This time, dropped via teleportation with a land speeder, Razz and the Jackrabbit brothers arrived at the Medivan temple with no welcome of gunfire and no sentries to hinder their approach. The stillness made them uneasy, and Jazz led them with blaster ready through the heavy rain to the temple. As they cleared the last ruined architecture and the temple came into view, they percieved a mass of L'zrd civilians and religious leaders, all gazing at the temple, all riveted.

Lori stood before the assmbled L'zrd mass at the temple, her long blonde hair rippling down her back, her dark purple gown plastered to her body in the steady drizzle that streamed over her face, with no attempt to hide the weaponry strapped to her hips. She had not been touched; rather, the crowds had parted to allow her access to the temple, outside of which the twelve priests stood, their eyes averted respectfully.
"Worthy one," the eldest of the twelve spoke in a voice like snakeskin rustling over dry leaves. "You have returned to us. We believed you to have been taken."
"I left of my own accord. I cannot be kept. But You are my people," she said, softly but in a carrying, clear voice, "and I have come back to you, of my own accord. I will remain your Daughter, your princess, but I cannot dwell among you any longer. I have been ill for many years and now I come to speak with you and to offer you what wisdom I have."
"Your words are truth, Lady." spoke a green-tattooed lizard respectfully. "Let us hear them now. Let us be lead by your great knowledge to a season of glory."
"I cannot promise you all the prophecy insinuates," Lori said carefully. "But know this: the galaxy is not meant to be owned. It is not meant to be commanded by one species. We must allow the Carrotian System their rightful place, as they have allowed you the Pitt planetary system, and the Winterus, and as the Milky Way is allowed to endure untroubled. If you can abide peacefully with the other species in this universe, I will remain with you as your Daughter and guide you the best that I know how, and I promise I can lead you to the highest your empire has ever seen." There was murmuring, collective whispers breaking out all among the assembly, and Jazz mumbled, too, "Lori, Lori, I hope you know what you're doing... don't promise them anything..."
She continued speaking. "Do not doubt my words. Do not doubt your prophecy- " she turned to the assembly behind her and raised her voice, "Do not doubt the words of your priests! I will establish an alliance to hold you fast to your place in this universe. You will never lack, you will never be underestimated. You will be revered as a force to be reckoned with, but you will be known as merciful. Only listen to me, your Daughter, the chosen one that the prophecy spoke of in centuries past. If you do not trust my words, I cannot do anything for you."

As Lori had suspected, the L'zrd held every word she spoke as truth. She left them that day with a strange light in her eyes, but the L'zrd withdrew their troops. The spies and mercenaries were retracted and one day, the Medivan temple was found to be vacant. No surrender was offered but Jazz, at Lori's prompting, issued a peace treaty to the L'zrd and requested an audience with their leaders for negotiation. Within a month an alliance was signed and the bonds between the planetary systems on opposing sides of the galaxy made a powerful force, and a peculiar one, as the knowledge became common that the two systems were commanded by siblings.
The war was far from over, though, when Razz finally prepared to returned to Diamondus for what he hoped was for good. Battles raged in space and there was the constant threat of violence no matter where one traveled. Perhaps it would always be so.
On the day he was to leave, Razz shuffled his clothing into a satchel and set off down the hallway to say goodbye to his cousins. He found Jazz and Eva together in the dining hall, poring over transmissions and large maps.
"The wedding's soon, isn't it, Razz?" Eva said as she hugged her cousin tightly. Razz embraced her fondly. "Month or so. Should get the invitation any day now." He smiled into her warm brown eyes and kissed her on the cheek before turning to Jazz.
"Thanks for putting up with me. Good luck; if you need me for anything, you know where to find me." Jazz shook Razz's paw. "I can't thank you enough, cuz." But Razz shrugged. "Nah, I didn't do anything."
His tracks led him out to the courtyard where he found Spaz and Lori sparring together. As always, his heart skipped several beats when he saw her agile figure, fur damp with sweat and her hair pulled into a ponytail. "Hey, little bro," he yelled over the sound of their fighting. "Just saying goodbye." He and Spaz hugged quickly. "Take care of this one," he said, nodding at the yellow rabbit beside them, breathing heavily. "Of course, Razz," Spaz grinned mischeviously. "You take care of yourself, I'll see you in October. Wait til you see me in a tux. You won't recognize me."
Razz smiled drily. "Yeah, I know. " Spaz giggled a little sycophantically and clapped Razz's shoulder. "I'll see you soon." He hung his javelin on the weapons rack in the courtyard and pranced off, leaving Razz and Lori alone. Razz could feel his chest constrict as he turned to face her.
"You've done good, Lori," he said softly. Her wide purple eyes looked up at his face, "Razz, I've come so far, I'm still a little scared. I still feel like I'm just winging it. I couldn't have... I couldn't have done it without you. I can't thank you enough for bringing me to my family... for bringing me to you." She moved close to him, and in a familiar move, she pressed her face to his shoulder. Razz wondered if she could hear his heartbeat, a million miles an hour, or noticed he had stopped breathing. He buried his nose in her long hair and dropped his bag to wrap his arms around her.
"Razz..." Lori's voice was muffled from his shoulder, and he placed a blue paw under her chin and turned her face up to his. "There is nothing that needs to be said. You know where to find me if you need me. I will do anything for you, Lori, you just have to ask." He looked into her violet eyes and in one moment she had stretched to tiptoe and placed her lips on his, and he felt his whole body enveloped in her kiss, the warmth of her small lips and the softness of her tongue and the fur under his paws.
"I do need you, Razz," she whispered to him, and his every muscle tightened.
"You have me, Lori. I'll always take care of you." As he looked into her eyes, very young and full of vivacity though now tinged with sadness, he knew there was nothing he could do or say, that he fell in love with her the day he saw her wracked body on Medivo and that he lost a part of himself in her. But he forced himself to say it, because he knew she needed to hear it.
"But that's all I can do." He pressed his lips to her forehead and turned away from her. He did not look back, didn't need to, to know that she stood still behind him with her eyes welling, knew that she would always be looking after him and that he would always, deep inside, be looking over his shoulder back at her.

--
It was clear and windy when Razz arrived back on Diamondus, but with a warmth in the air that he knew meant October was coming. He entered the Tavern after dark, it's warm glowing windows welcoming, and inside the atmosphere was friendly and bustling. He nodded to a couple familiar faces and at the bar, ordered a tall carrot ale. His little bartender smiled at him fondly.
"Are you staying this time?" she asked, and Razz nodded. "I couldn't stay away any longer."
She put her paw on his.
"I really missed you."
Razz looked into her eyes, looked around at the familiarity of the tavern, thought of his small grey house with the red roof and of his wedding in less than a month to a woman he loved, and thought, isn't it funny, how you don't know you miss some things until you have them back.
He thought of his cousins and their faces before him made him smile; and he thought of Lori, and he knew that she would make it just fine.

FIN.