A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, the very stars were at war. The forces of the good and the forces of evil in a constant struggle for dominance, their war sending ripples throughout the very fabric of reality itself. At this moment Vader cared not for any of that. His breathing apparatus echoed harshly against the walls of a dank, dark cave which was lit only by the red glow of his lightsaber. The cyborg was deep in meditation, gathering his emotions to build his power, focusing his thoughts on one goal. A rumour, something passed down in the whisperings of the Jedi. A tale of six stones, a tale of world's beyond their universe, a tale of infinite power. Darth Vader stood stiff in the darkness, spreading his senses out across the force like a net, honing in on a crack in the very fabric of time and space itself. He would have the stones of infinity for himself, and then not even Darth Sidious could stand in his way.

XxX

Yoda coughed, a deep hacking rasp that wracked the ancient beings small green frame. He was deeply unwell, but it was an illness that came to all beings in the end. The sickness of age. Of course Yoda did not see it as a sickness at all, it was merely the ebb and flow of the force, providing life and then allowing that life to slip back into its flow. His time was coming to an end, but that was just a natural progression, and Yoda had made peace with that many years ago. He knew there was strength in the young Skywalker, and that the weight of the universe would be a burden the man could carry, much like the X-Wing he crash landed in. Yet, there was something that made Yoda uneasy, fluctuations in the dark side of the force.

Young Anakin Skywalker. Not so young anymore, not so Skywalker anymore. A sith lord, fearsome in his own right. Yoda could feel him searching the breadth and depth of the force, and it was all he could do to hide himself from the Sith's gaze. This would not do. Yoda knew what the sith was searching for, he was the one that had planted the idea in the turncoats head. A series of relics forged by the death of a being and the birth of all creation. He could not be allowed to obtain that power, all beings on all worlds would be at Vader's mercy. Darth Sidious may have been a tyrant, ruling over his empire with an iron fist from the shadows, but Vader was a warlord in the making. His rage was nigh uncontrolled, the galaxy would burn.

The force seemed to agree with Yoda's sentiment. The tiny green creature felt the force surge within him, a pulse of power the likes of which he had never known before. His weakness left him, his strength returned to his limbs. Yoda had a new mission, and as a jedi, it was his job to see it out. To let the few remaining Jedi, and the young Skywalker, know of the danger yet to come.

XxX

Doctor Stephen Strange paced the halls of his Sanctum Sanctorum. Sunlight streamed through the Seal of the Vishanti window, catching motes of dust in its beams, and the constant hustle and bustle of the New York morning filtered through the wooden floors. Strange walked through the labyrinthine halls without real purpose, his cape fluttering behind him. He felt a disturbance in the flow of universal energy. A force exterior to his own dimension, trying to break its way in. Not Dormammu, something else, something perhaps even more dangerous. He had consulted the books of his occult library but nothing matched the visions he had seen deep in his meditation, nothing matched the odd tugging on the fabric of reality this strange new flow of power seemed to produce. Those visions. A man clad all in black. A sword made of crackling energy. Whoever it was, he was coming, and when he arrived it would mean death for all. With a disgruntled sigh Strange picked up his sling ring. He would let Wong inform the Avengers if need be, but like all manners of sorcery, for now he felt as if he could deal with it alone.

XxX

Death was concerned. Something flittered at the edge of her attention, but she could not grasp it, as if it were there but not. Many may believe that Death was an evil entity, that by the nature of Death she would be cruel and craving of destruction. This was not true. Death enjoyed the balance of the universe. Yes she may get involved with mortals from time to time, she had to have her fun somehow, but balance was key. The balance between life and death. It sustained the universe, an underlying force, and she was its keeper. But she could feel it, flickering at the edge of her perception, a great imbalance in the force was coming. It was similar, Death remarked to herself, to the time the Walker eradicated a galaxy in an attempt to impress her. A great loss of life was soon on the horizon, and she was concerned that the balance of the force would be forever changed.

XxX

Vader emerged from his cave. He was smiling, not that the two guards who were standing at the entrance of the cave could have possibly known that under his mask. Lord Vader of the Sith had been successful in his meditation. During his meditation he had sensed a crack, a tiny little schism, in the fabric of reality itself. Through that crack he could feel the endless possibilities of an impossibly large multiverse, universe upon universe ready to be dominated by his might. But his quest for power was singular, and as he allowed his tendrils of his mental search to seek further out into that space he was drawn to one universe in particular. He had found them, or at least the universe in which they existed. The Infinity Gems the Jedi had spoke of, and the gauntlet that wielded them. The dark lord suppressed a chuckle as he boarded his personal ship. Soon it would be his, and then his plans could truly come to pass.

AN - I haven't posted fanfiction for a very long time. I don't know if I am going to continue this fanfiction. Nevertheless, this was the prologue to a star wars and avengers crossover story. I will write more of it if the consensus is "hey that's pretty good."