Ahsoka flopped down onto her bed.

"I'm so bored, Master!" she whined.

Anakin looked up from the article he was reading. "Calm down, Snips. We'll be home soon. Just get some rest."

He watched as Ahsoka stretched out on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Three seconds later, she rolled onto her side. After another ten seconds or so, she shifted onto her stomach.

"Okay, can you stop moving?" Anakin groaned.

"Stop looking at me when I'm trying to sleep!" she demanded, curling into a ball and hiding her head under the blanket.

"Sorry," Anakin muttered. "Here, is this better?" He flicked his hand to turn off the lights and went back to his article.

Eventually, Anakin heard Ahsoka moving again. As he looked up, she poked her head out from the blanket. "Whatcha reading about?" she asked.

"Stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Stuff."

"Can you read it to me?"

"You'll get even more bored."

"Am I interrupting something?" a third voice chimed in. It was a male voice, calm and composed.

Anakin dropped his datapad and leaped to his feet, lightsaber flying to his hand. Ahsoka threw her blanket off and towards the voice, summoning her own lightsabers. In order to avoid showing their location, neither Anakin nor Ahsoka ignited their blades.

"Here," said the voice.

A second later, the lights came on, revealing the voice's owner.

He was a human man, about the same height as Anakin, with piercing gray eyes and black hair with streaks of silver. He wore blue robes and a red cloak trimmed with gold. One hand was on the light switch, which he had evidently just flipped. The other held Ahsoka's blanket.

"I believe this belongs to you," the man said, taking a step forward and holding the blanket out to Ahsoka.

In response, she ignited her shoto and pointed it at him. "Who are you?" she growled.

"I am Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts. I need your help."

"How did you get here?" Anakin asked.

"Made a portal."

"Why should I believe you?" Anakin snarled, moving his lightsaber ever closer to Strange's throat.

Strange reached into his belt and pulled an object out from it. It appeared to be two rings attached together. Strange slipped his pointer and middle fingers into the rings and spun his arm in circles in front of him. A spinning, glowing golden ring appeared, and Strange tossed Ahsoka's blanket through it.

There was a soft thump as the blanket somehow landed on Ahsoka's bed.

Strange swung his arm in a circle, and the portal closed in on itself, disappearing.

"Okay, portals. Not the craziest thing ever," Anakin muttered.

"Why do you need our help?" Ahsoka asked.

"And why should we give it?" Anakin added.

"Unless you want half of all life in the universe to be exterminated, you will help me," Strange said.

"Are you telling me that someone is just going to kill half the galaxy, just like that?" Anakin said, snapping his fingers on the word that.

Strange nodded. "Exactly like… that," he said, snapping his fingers.

"How about you explain some more, Master Strange?" Anakin said.

"Doctor Strange," he corrected. "And we don't have time. I'll show you."

"What are you talking about?" Ahsoka demanded.

"A mind meld. A way to transfer images, thoughts, from my mind to yours with no need for explanation."

"Like a Force bond?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes, I suppose. Somewhat," Strange said.

Anakin sighed.

"Fine," he said, "but only me." He lowered his lightsaber.

"What?" Ahsoka yelped, putting away her own saber. "Master, you have to let me see too!"

"No, Ahsoka. We don't know anything here."

"Which is why I need to do it too!"

"I'll fill you in. Do it, Strange," Anakin said.

Strange raised his hand to Anakin's head. He placed his thumb against Anakin's jaw, his pointer finger against his cheekbone, his middle finger to his temple.

"Ready?" Strange asked.

Anakin nodded.

Strange closed his eyes.

"Too many mouths, not enough to go around."

A desolate planet, littered with broken machinery.

"I offered a solution."

A huge purple… thing with a golden glove on one hand.

The word Thanos appeared in Anakin's head, along with the knowledge that it was the purple thing's name.

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist, I call that… mercy."

Six slots on the golden glove, four of them occupied with jewels of purple, blue, red, orange.

"When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive. I hope they remember you."

A man in broken armor collapsing to the ground.

A green stone added to the others, one slot left empty.

"Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn."

A shattered body coming back together, only to break again.

A yellow stone added to the others, all six slots filled.

"You should have gone for the head."

A snap of the glove's fingers.

A blinding flash of energy.

People everywhere crumbling to ashes.

Thanos fleeing to a remote planet.

"It almost killed me!"

Another explosion of energy.

"I am… inevitable."

The images came faster after that.

A journey through time and space.

Two identical men dressed in red, white, and blue fighting each other.

A metal hand grasping for a metal sphere, melted and twisted by the heat of a force field.

A man screaming as a woman fell to her death.

A hammer flying into the hand of a warrior.

Another snap of the fingers, the same stones, a different glove.

The return of all the people who had disappeared.

A giant ship, raining down fire on a building.

Three men attacking Thanos with lightning and fire, all three of them defeated in succession.

Thanos leading an army.

Strange pulled his hand away from Anakin's head, saying nothing.

Anakin's face felt damp, warm and cold at the same time. He let out a shaky breath, then drew in another, ever so slowly, his lungs shuddering and spasming.

Something touched his arm.

He looked down.

Ahsoka's hand.

"Master?" she said quietly. "What was it?"

Anakin swallowed and shook his head. "It—it was horrible."

Ahsoka gave his shoulder a little squeeze, rubbing a circle on his collarbone with her thumb. She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile, sending him a sense of it's okay, you're fine through the Force.

Then she dropped her hand and turned to Strange. "Show me."

"No, Ahsoka!" Anakin snapped.

Ahsoka flinched.

"No," Anakin said again, quieter.

"She has to know," Strange said.

"No, she doesn't!" Anakin yelled. "Here, Ahsoka. This big purple guy killed a lot of people and now we have to go kill him before he kills more. There."

"Master, I think you should listen to Doctor Strange."

Anakin took a deep breath and let it out. "Nobody should have to see that," he said. "Especially not you."

"You saw it," she pointed out.

He didn't reply.

"It's only worse if you keep it to yourself," Ahsoka said.

Anakin closed his eyes. "No—"

"Please." She pushed so much love, so much care into that one syllable.

Anakin opened his eyes.

"If you insist," he said, trying to pull up a smirk.

"Thank you," Ahsoka said softly. She turned to Strange. "All right, come on," she said, gesturing to the side of her head.

Strange placed his hand on the side of Ahsoka's face and closed his eyes again. His mouth and eyebrows tightened ever so slightly in concentration.

Ahsoka's eyes closed. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then she started to breathe faster, her shoulders heaving.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Then, after what couldn't have been more than a few seconds, Strange pulled his hand away.

Ahsoka's eyes flew open and she gasped.

Anakin felt his eyes go wide as he panicked over her panic. "Hey, hey, Ahsoka. Shh. You're okay." He pulled her into a hug, one hand rubbing her back, the other resting protectively on the back of her head.

"You were worse," Strange said.

Anakin rolled his eyes and looked down at the top of Ahsoka's head. "Looks like you outdid me again, Snips," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Ahsoka gave a weak laugh. At least that's what Anakin thought it was. Maybe it was a sob.

He pulled back and crouched slightly to look her straight in the eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded and managed a smile. "You're so overprotective."

Anakin chuckled slightly, patting her shoulder. "Yep, you're fine."

Ahsoka smiled, then looked down as if in thought, her brow furrowing. "If that was five years ago…" She frowned and looked up at Strange. "We didn't experience that five years ago. Or… ever."

Strange shrugged. "Perhaps Thanos didn't feel the need to, uh… adjust you. Or maybe he just overlooked your galaxy, though I doubt it. It's impossible to know. But we do know that trillions of lives are at risk."

"So, how do we help?" Ahsoka asked.

"You have an army that was made to be the best of the best. Not to mention your own abilities."

"So all we have to do is go kill this Thanos guy and everything will be fine," Anakin said.

"Basically," Strange said. "We also have to make sure he doesn't get the stones. Also, he has an army."

"Well, I have a lightsaber," Anakin muttered.

"I have two," Ahsoka said.

"When you're done, we have things to do," Strange said.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on!" Anakin led the way out of the room and fell into step next to Strange.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before coming to a lift.

Ahsoka pushed the button. "Boop," she said.

Anakin chuckled to himself.

They stood awkwardly, waiting for the lift to arrive. If they hadn't looked… strange before, they certainly did now. Every time a trooper passed, their gaze would linger on Strange for a few seconds. Then their eyes would flick over to Anakin, who would try to nod reassuringly, and Ahsoka, who would just wave.

Finally, the lift doors opened. All three entered.

"Boop," Ahsoka said again, pushing the up button.

"So," Anakin said, leaning back against the wall. "Where's Thanos?"

"I'll worry about that," Strange said.

"We… kinda need coordinates," Ahsoka said.

"I'll worry about it," Strange said again, waving it away. "Just get together anyone who wants to help."

Anakin sighed. He lifted his comlink, pressing the button to connect him to Captain Rex. "Hey Rex, how are ya?" he said, trying to sound more relaxed than he felt.

"I'm having a pretty all-right day, sir. You?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow. He looked up at Strange, then back down at his comlink, the light blinking softly on his wrist.

Pretty all-right was not the first phrase he would use to describe his day.

"We're all… fine… here… uh, thank you."

Ahsoka facepalmed. "Brilliant," she muttered.

"Is something wrong, General Skywalker?"

Anakin sighed. "Uh… can you get together any of the boys who wants to save the universe by fighting a purple guy and a bunch of aliens? In the hangar?"

"With all due respect, sir… what is going on?"

"I'll explain later. Just do it."

"Uh…"

"Pleeease?" Anakin said, not without sarcasm.

"Uh… yes, sir."

"Thanks." Anakin said. He turned off his comlink and crossed his arms, looking at Strange. "So what exactly are we trying to do?"

"Stop Thanos from getting the stones. Defeat him and his army," Strange said.

"Doesn't sound too bad, huh, Snips?" Anakin said, elbowing Ahsoka gently and smirking down at her.

"We've survived worse," she said with a smirk of her own. "And won."

"Don't underestimate Thanos," Strange said.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. Ahsoka led the way into the hangar, where Rex and a few other clones were standing. When the clones saw Anakin and Ahsoka, they snapped to attention.

"At ease," Anakin said. "How many do you have coming, Rex?"

Rex chuckled. "Plenty, sir. Now what is it we're doing?" He flicked his eyes at Strange, wordlessly asking who is this guy?

"I'll explain when everyone gets here," Anakin said. Clones were already entering the hangar, some talking to their brothers, others inspecting their gear; Anakin wondered how many were coming.

After a few more minutes, Rex said, "Well, I think that's about all of 'em." He activated his comlink. "If you're coming on the mission and you're not in the hangar, hurry up!" he said into it.

Anakin laughed. "Thanks, Rex."

"Anytime, sir."

"All right," Anakin called. "Listen up."

The clones stopped talking and gathered around.

"If you're here, you accept that what we're about to do is very dangerous, possibly stupid, depending on your point of view. We're going to confront someone with a huge army and try to keep him from gaining godlike powers and destroying half the universe. If you want to back out, do it now. Nobody would blame you. In fact, if you back out you're probably smarter than the rest of us."

"Well, I for one am too stupid to back out," Hardcase called.

A chorus of agreement went up.

"Okay! Great!" Anakin yelled, holding up his hands for silence. "Doctor Strange will explain the details. Strange?" He gestured to the sorcerer.

Strange stepped forward. "Thank you. I am Doctor Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts. I have come here seeking help against Thanos, a genocidal Titan who wants to exterminate half of all life in the universe. If he obtains all six of the Infinity Stones, he will be able to do so with a snap of his fingers."

"Why only half?" someone piped up.

"So that the remaining half will have more resources to distribute amongst themselves."

"Well, can't the stones just make more resources?" Rex asked.

"That would allow population to grow even more, not solving the problem," Strange said. He raised his voice again so all could hear. "With the help of my allies, we need to stop Thanos from getting the stones and defeat him and his army. Any questions?"

A clone's armored hand raised into the air.

Strange pointed to its owner. "Yes."

"Where are the stones right now?" the clone asked.

"They are currently in possession of my allies."

"'Kay."

"Anything else?" Strange asked.

Nobody spoke up.

Ahsoka tapped Strange on the shoulder. "How are we going to get… where we're going?"

Strange smiled. "Leave that to me."

"Wha—"

"Just load the troops onto the gunships."

Anakin sighed. He clapped his hands twice. "All right, men! To the gunships!" He turned to Strange. "Come on."

Anakin, Ahsoka, Strange, and Rex climbed onto a gunship along with a lot of clones. Strange, rather than going to the center of the hold, stayed on the edge.

"You all right there, Doctor?" Rex asked.

"Yes. Take off when you're ready."

Rex relayed the order to the pilot. The gunship lifted off and flew into the center of the cruiser. Normally, the doors would open, allowing the ship to exit the cruiser, but this time, the doors stayed shut.

"Now what?" Anakin asked Strange.

Strange reached into his belt and pulled out the ring thing again. He slipped it on and leaned out the side of the gunship, spinning his arm in wide circles.

A yell came from the gunship pilot.

"What the kark?"

Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, and a few other clones leaned out the sides of the gunship to look.

Directly ahead of the ship was a portal like the one Strange had made before, only this one was easily large enough for the gunship to fit through. Inside the circle was a view of a broken landscape, covered by thousands of soldiers. A huge ship hovered in the air behind the army.

Anakin looked at Strange. "Is this where we're going?"

Strange threw his hands up. "Yeah, Sherlock. Tell them to go, we don't have much time!"

"Who's Sherlock?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know, Snips," Anakin murmured to her. "But I know that he doesn't know that I don't know." Anakin reached up and gripped the safety handle. "Go!" he called to the pilot. "Through the portal!"

"Sir?"

"Go through the kriffing portal!"

"Yes, sir."

The gunship began to move forward.

A/N: I got this idea after rewatching Endgame a few days ago. Maybe it's slightly cracky, but oh well. :)

I think this will have one, maybe two more chapters. Stay tuned!

-Jimmy