Author's Note: Well folks, here we are at the finale. Thanks to everyone for sticking around, as long as it's taken to update this story. The idea for this came after watching a few, particular movies and I do hope to follow up on it. Inserting it was too good of an idea pass up on, so I'm giving it a shot.

Chapter 35: The Offer

The four of them landed. Ripple Star would seem an odd planet, but they had seen stranger world and lands before. Just another out-of-this-world place to them.

One of them, the only female in the group, tapped her temple with her left finger and then pointed west. "He's in that direction. He and the others, as well."

The other three let her lead the way toward Queen Gretchen's castle. Nothing waited for them on this planet except for one goal. No emperors or kings to defeat and no legion of minions lining up for them to knock down, one by one. No, what they had in mind this time was a different sort of challenge.

One of the four spoke up. "I thought he would've headed back to his own planet by now."

"It's his one night to bask in the fact that he and his friends are being celebrated as heroes. Let him have that. I'm sure he planned to head out in the morning, maybe sooner, but by then-"

"He'll have already said 'Yes' to us," another of them finished.

The last one tipped his cap and looked to the female in the group. "Right, right. Meanwhile, mind getting us there a bit quicker? Less ground to cover."

"Fine." She stopped and asked the others to join hands. After closing her eyes to focus for a few seconds, an array of colors spun around the four of them until they vanished from sight.

"Stop staring into space!"

"But it's such a pretty night."

Two fairies stood stationed outside the entrance to the Queen's castle. One kept her eye trained to the sky while the other focused on her job of guarding the entrance until shift change.

The fairy looking at the sky kept watching. "I think you're just bitter because you didn't get any food tonight."

"Did you see them tonight? The pink one pretty much inhaled the kitchen!" She paused, as if to give weight to her words. "In fact, I think he did inhale all of the food in the kitchen! Yeah, I'm bitter! And where do you-"

A flash of light and four strange creatures appearing out of nowhere ended the conversation. The two fairies raised their flashlights and whistles, the only devices given to the night shift, at the sight of four individuals.

"Halt!" One fairy shined her light on the man in green. "By order of Queen Gretchen, who rules Ripple Star with a fist as powerful as the Crystal Shard we guard-"

"Who are you and what are you all doing here?" The second fairy did not like the theatrics or planned out speeches. "Please identify yourself."

The female in the group put two fingers to her temple and extended her right arm. After focusing for a few seconds, to the bewilderment of the fairies, she opened her eyes. "The Queen is inside. And so is our potential member with his friends."

"Well then, let's go."

"I'm telling the Queen!" One of the two fairies fumbled with her whistle before a hook zipped out of nowhere. The fairy watched as the hook, attached by a long chain, returned to the side of the man in green. He pocketed the whistle before staring down the two fairies with challenging eyes.

"Stand aside."

The two fairies dropped their remaining items and fluttered backward. The four individuals walked past them without a word and into the castle. The fairies exchanged a glance and decided to follow behind. At a reasonable distance. Which meant waiting until the four had rounded a bend or wouldn't look behind them.

Kirby turned on his side and put the pillow over his head, yet the voice persisted. It spoke on without interruption or consideration of the puffball's need for sleep.

"You cannot save the universe by yourself. No one can."

"SHUT UP!" Kirby shot forward, managing to wake up Waddle Dee in the process. Dedede, Adeleine and Ribbon remained in dreamland.

Waddle Dee rubbed his eyes, which hadn't accumulated their late night crust yet. "I always wanted a fresh start to the day when it's still night outside, Kirby, thanks for that."

"Waddle, did you ever get that feeling that there may be this person in your head, talking to you? You know, and never leaving you alone?"

Waddle's eyes were low enough that he could have fallen asleep sitting up if he wanted to, but high enough that he could make out Kirby without drifting back into sleep. "Too much free food, Kirby. Cut back on the…meats…" Waddle Dee's captivating message ended as he dropped his head and went back to sleep.

Kirby just frowned. Ribbon, meanwhile, heard everything.

"I'm sorry, but no queen or princess should have a castle of this proportion," one of the three males in the group said aloud.

The four walked for what seemed like minutes dragged out long enough to feel like hours. With each spiraling stairway, they hoped to stumble upon the grand prize, some larger door with a Q on it or maybe a red carpet that had to lead to the queen's room, but nothing.

"When you're royalty, you're entitled to it," another joined in. He looked to the female. "Are we close and even better, are we still being followed?"

The female removed her head from her temple and smiled for the first time all night. "Up ahead and yes, they're one full floor beneath us. Let them come. As far as I'm concerned, this involves their planet, so the more that know, the better." She stopped, examined the hallway and led the others toward the door at the end. "In here."

"So wait, they put two 'guards' at the entrance, but not in front of the queen's room? What kind of sense does that make?"

"Maybe they thought their first two were so good that no one would ever pass them." One of them turned their head to the left just long enough to see two spots of colored hair vanish from sight. "If you would."

The female opened the door and before she could take one step in, light flooded the room. One fairy came into view with a bow and arrow at the ready and fired. Another arrow shot from the man in green, who had managed to produce his own bow in a matter of seconds. His arrow split the fairy's arrow down the middle and planted itself in the wall behind the fairy.

A second fairy, wings fluttering with half the vigor as a few seconds ago, managed to still fire her arrow at the female.

Unmoved, the female managed a smile as the arrow stopped, inches away from her face to the point that it could breathe on her. She tilted her head a bit and watched as the arrow floated toward the man in green. "Nowhere near as powerful as yours, but their craftsmanship is still impressive."

"If I could get a word in my own room, I would appreciate some sort of formal greeting." Everyone looked toward Queen Gretchen, who sat upright in her bed with her hair in an unkempt mess. "Whatever happened to just saying 'Hello?'"

The man in green put away his bow and went to retrieve his bow. "Sorry about that, your highness. We don't expect fairies as a line of defense. We're more accustomed to bigger threats."

"Hey!" One of the fairies yelped.

"But we needed to speak to you first before addressing him ourselves," the woman joined in. "We require your input as well since we may be depriving you of your new battalion commander. Sorry for the sudden intrusion."

The Queen waved her hand, dismissing it. "I don't even know what's happened in the past few days. I'm still getting all of the details. A little late night interruption isn't the worst thing that's happened to me."

Both of the fairies floated next to the Queen. The female of the four cleared her throat. "Your highness, we know all about Dark Matter, you and your planet falling prey to it and losing the Shard. But we also know about the efforts of your young fairy, Kirby and their entourage. To be honest, we commend them."

Queen Gretchen nodded. "But you didn't come here in the middle of the night to tell me that."

"You yourself said that the fight against evil may never be over, and we agree."

"Without question," another of the four added.

"There are forces out there that still threaten our universe. You think Dark Matter is the end of this?"

"Our Queen already has a full scale battalion ready for such an occasion and with Ribbon at the head-"

"You're missing the point! This goes deeper than Dark Matter. This requires more than a legion of fairies. And it means more happening than just falling under something else's control."

The Queen's glance dropped as she stared at her sheets. That memory she remembered, no question.

"We don't blame you for what happened, your highness," one of the males added. "Though we deem it necessary to point out that this Dark Matter was nothing compared to other evils. Consider that Dark Matter chose to let you keep your body and your life. It had the ability to consume Ripple Star, yet it let its queen keep her life. Not everyone and everything is as forgiving or generous."

"Which is why we're assembling some of the universe's finest-"

"Just tell us what you need us to do and we'll take it from there!" One of the fairies interrupted.

"There won't be a we," the female of the four shot back. "You fail to understand that your planet almost succumbed altogether to Dark Matter. As you mentioned, your highness, the struggle may never be over. Many of you must remain as the planet's defense. We are here for those we see fit to join us."

The Queen looked up. "So you want Kirby and Ribbon to leave their friends to join some ragtag group of people that they've never met, just to go on some adventure?"

"We're talking about the safety of every single one of us. Did you expect an easy decision? After everything that they have been through, we don't expect them to say yes. We don't even expect them to consider it, but to understand the seriousness of the situation. Think of this as a greater reward for their last test."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Their last test, huh? Did they pass?"

"They did. If they could not destroy Dark Matter, they would not be reader for this greater challenge. Not to make light of what you all experienced, but Dark Matter's power will seem like nothing compared to what else lies out there. For your heroes, this will just be the beginning.

"But they proved themselves by retrieving one Shard after another and eliminating Dark Matter. They're ready to take on something much greater."

The gravity of this weighed upon Queen Gretchen's head. She reached for her glasses and pushed them up the bridge of her nose. "So what does any of this have to do with me? It sounds as if you've already made up your minds. No matter what I say, this is going to end up with Kirby, Ribbon and the others leaving."

"This planet is still under your rule," one of the four countered. "You still lead these fairies, not us. We wouldn't just steal away your new commander without your consent. Also, she is still young and you may consider her inexperienced to handle something of this magnitude."

"Plus, if we wanted to just take them without your permission, we'd have done it already."

"I think this is something that you all should just discuss with them instead of me." The Queen looked to Emily. "Go awaken them and let them know they have visitors."

The female of the four, again, put two fingers to her temple. "Already on that."

"You think you are the only hero in the universe?"

Again, Kirby shot upward in the bed.

"If you wish to save others, to join others like yourself and help those who cannot help themselves, seek me out."

"And just how am I supposed to do that?"

"Yup, I'm awake now." Adeleine threw off her covers, but put up her hands to cover her eyes when Dedede turned on the light. "Kirby, do you have an invisible friend that you haven't told us about?"

"I'm sorry everyone, but haven't you ever had a voice in your head, telling you what to do?"

"Of course not, Dedede just yells at you before he gets in your head," Adeleine laughed before a well thrown pillow knocked her on her back.

"No, you guys, I'm serious. Someone or something keeps talking to me and…they want us to go?"

Waddle Dee tilted his head to the side. "Could it be Dark Matter again?"

Ribbon shook her head. "No, not Dark Matter. Even if Dark Matter managed to survive that blast somehow, I doubt it would try to come after the Shard so soon. And I know it's no one from my planet because, as far as I know, we don't have telepaths."

Adeleine pushed the pillow onto the floor. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, we ought to go see the Queen and see what she has to say about this," Ribbon suggested.

"Funny, that's who this voice is telling me to see." Kirby got out of the bed and walked toward the door.

"Kirby, random voice talks to you in your head and you're gonna go ahead with whatever it says? You're not even gonna be the least bit worried?"

"I think almost getting caught in an exploding planet took away all my worry. Plus, the longer the voice talks, the more it'll keep me up, which means I'll keep you all up."

The others exchanged a glance, shrugged and followed Kirby into the hallway. Despite days and nights of travel, fighting and near death, they couldn't turn down another encounter.

"Yes, just a few floors down."

"Yes, just a few floors down," Kirby repeated, until the others stopped in place and wondered just who he was talking to.

The sound of their feet and shoes against the floor trailed off and the castle seemed to hold its breath as they approached the Queen's door. After taking a deep breath, and at the voice's insistence that he stop staring at the door, Kirby entered.

It would be the understatement of the century to say that Kirby and the others had seen some strange things before. No need to retread over the various creatures they had encountered, but it was odd for them to come upon…humans? Sure, Adeleine and the Queen were one thing, but this was strange.

"Ah, he's here at last."

Kirby recognized the voice in his head now loud and clear for everyone to hear, and his eyes widened as he zeroed in on the woman in the pink and white dress as the source. She started a slow clap for a few seconds before walking toward Kirby and looking him dead in his eyes.

"Brilliant work, all of you. We've been keeping track of your work and I believe I can speak for the four of us when I say we are all impressed with what you managed to do."

The others nodded. The man in green stood up. Kirby took a step backward not because of his height, but because his eyes could not stay off of the massive sword on his back. But before he could speak, Queen Gretchen cleared her throat.

"Kirby, Ribbon, all of you, we are in your debt for your selflessness and aiding Ripple Star and this entire galaxy. Yet it seems your work is far from over."

"Your Queen said herself that the fight against evil may never be over, and it isn't. There are other forces lingering out there, more devastating than Dark Matter."

Adeleine smirked. "Well, whatever it is, we'll be ready for it! We kicked that Dark Matter outta here and we'll do it again, too!"

One of the four approached Adeleine. He came down to her level, looked her in the eye and smiled. "Admirable, but what we're talking about goes beyond Dark Matter. And it will take more than a paintbrush and easel to defeat it."

Kirby remained wary of the human in front of Adeleine. He did not seem very nice, or maybe he knew more about this than they knew. Either way, Kirby figured the man may have responded that way because he had anger issues. After all, that had to be what the "M" on his red cap stood for. That or 'moustache' because Kirby had to admit, that was one glorious moustache.

The sorta kinda human fox person stood up from the Queen's bed.

"We are in the process of putting together a group of special individuals, but we understand if you wish to remain here with your friends. Know that you may be away from them for a long time. It will be dangerous, no question, but we cannot force you to go. Neither can your Queen."

The five looked to Queen Gretchen, who nodded in agreement.

"This is a decision that you all will have to make on your own."

Ribbon turned around from everyone else. "So much time lost, so much to catch up on, and now my Queen has placed me in charge of our battalion. I couldn't just, no, I won't-"

"Ribbon."

Queen Gretchen's voice struck the air like a commandment.

"We understand your desire to come back home for good, believe me. However, we believe this to be the best decision for the greater good. You, all of you, have done us a great service, one that would take years to repay. Now you all are being asked to do something greater, to help others like us who want to stand against the darkness. Who will be on the frontline when evil strikes again. Do not tell me that you are not ready for that type of responsibility."

Ribbon gritted her teeth and tried to choke back tears, but to no avail. She felt Dedede's flipper on her hand.

"You've come too far to just give up on beating bad guys."

Waddle Dee stepped forward. "Count me in." He looked to Adeleine, whose smile beamed with anticipation.

"Another adventure? You bet I'm in! Maybe I'll get to paint better stuff!"

After using Dedede's robe, which he did sleep in, to cover up any tears, and turned around.

"If it's for a greater good, then yes, I will do it!"

"You bet we're in."

All eyes turned to Kirby, who remained silent. Random fairy lands on his head, has a sad story, have to leave home on Pop Star for months to endure volcanoes, sand traps sharks, demented toy factories, snowstorms, a Rubix cube that can't decide when to close its eyes, and just when he may have a moment's rest, he can't have that because there may be something else out there even worse than Dark Matter?

With a cheeky grin on his face, Kirby nodded. "It's not even a question. Let's do it."

Queen Gretchen, Emily and Dixie all clapped to themselves while Ribbon, Waddle Dee, Adeleine and Dedede all gathered behind Kirby.

"Glad to hear it," the female of the four responded. "As we said, this is a group of special individuals and there is no doubt in our mind that the five of you are worthy candidates."

The strange looking fox human approached Kirby, extended his hand and once Kirby returned the gesture, gave him a firm handshake.

"Glad to have you onboard, but before we leave, we haven't been introduced." He motioned to the others, who stepped forward.

"My name is Fox McCloud, to my left are the Hero of Time, Link, and Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and to my right is Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom. And Mr. Kirby, to you and all of your friends, we say welcome to the team."

Kirby blinked. "Say, just what kind of team are we talking about?"