"Ow!" I clench my teeth against any further verbal indication of the searing pain coursing through me as I'm dropped into position. I hear Kuvira grunt nearby, and know she's also feeling less than comfortable being loaded into the jump seat of a Space Corps fighter.

"I cannot believe you talked me into this," Izumi mutters as she helps Opal secure my seat restraints.

I wince as the last buckle is secured, and struggle to think of a joke to break the tension. Sadly, I'm in too much pain and the weight of what we're trying to do is too heavy. Izumi pounds two solid hits to my helmet then slides down the ladder, disappearing from view.

As Opal drops into the pilot's seat in front of me, I take several deep breaths to soothe the nausea in my gut. In the next fighter over Jinora has finished checking Kuvira's harness and is settling into place in front of her. I turn to see Izumi climbing up the ladder on fighter beyond Jinora while talking to Asami. My girlfriend is sitting on the edge of the cockpit, one hand on the raised canopy above her. After a few minutes the two of them pull on their helmets and climb into their respective seats.

It had taken me the better part of three hours to explain my and Kuvira's near death experience and my theories around it, and how some sense of that knowledge may be influencing our wayward duo of fighter pilot and AI.

I see Asami's head turn towards me, but the canopy comes down before I can meet her gaze. My headset crackles and I hear Izumi's voice over the comms. "Valkyrie squadron requesting launch."

"You are clear for launch, Valkyrie squadron."

"Copy that." Izumi replies. "Valkyrie One standing by."

"Valkyrie Two standing by," says Jinora.

"Valkyrie Three standing by," Opal calls out.

"You are go for launch, Valkyrie squadron."

I automatically clench my stomach muscles as I feel the thrusters fire, lifting us into the air. A part of me bristles at being in the jump seat, but there's no question that I'm not flight qualified; just sitting here is exhausting me.

"You alright back there, Avatar?" Opal's voice is partly teasing, but I also hear her concern; she's clearly feeling the weight of having me behind her rather than leading the Ferrets in my own fighter.

"You fly like a grandma," I mutter, and I scowl when I hear her laugh.

"You didn't see the look your wife gave me when we loaded you up," Opal comments. "Let me tell ya — she's way scarier than you."

I scoff but it's quiet, because I know anything I say Asami will hear now that we all have our helmet comms active, and I'm not an idiot. I settle for a clarification.

"She's not my wife."

I hear Kuvira snort over the comm. "Keep telling yourself that, Avatar."

"I haven't seen a ring," Asami's voice is amused, and I wince. I also try hard not to think of the velvet covered box buried in my underwear drawer.

"Focus, people," I finally say, but I'm pretty sure my voice is more plaintive than commanding. Thankfully no one comments on this.

I see Opal tap her comm and turn her head. We're now talking privately. "Do you know what he's planning? I'm really hoping you know how to get him back."

"I have a suspicion yeah." I let my helmet fall against the canopy, feeling the weight of what I'm pretty sure is coming. "And I'm pretty sure he's not coming back."

I hear Opal's sharp intake of breath. "What—" her voice trails off.

I close my eyes and swallow, feeling the lump in my throat. "But I do think he'll want to say goodbye."

Ahead of us the asteroid belt is making its presence known, the swirling chaos of the roiling rocks both familiar and terrifying.

Opal has remained silent. I wish I had some words of comfort but I can only sigh, and wait.

"Take us in, Wee," I hear Izumi call out.

"Copy that, Viper. Heading in."

I take a deep breath as Opal falls in behind Izumi's fighter as the old pilot lets Jinora slip into the lead spot.

Here we go.

—

Our route through the asteroids feels almost leisurely. There's no critical deadline, no ruse we have to carefully maintain against a lurking enemy. If anything it reminds me of the first time I ever flew in the belt, a carefully curated path by our training officers for a batch of eager rookies.

We were so young, yet so determined to earn our wings and be gifted with the proud insignias that announced to the world we were pilots of the Space Fighter Corps, officers serving the United Federation of Planets. A time before we'd been tested and measured and burdened with violence and loss.

A crackle of our comms stirs me from my musings.

"Hey there, friends!" Bolin's voice is as cheerful as I've heard since before the battle that took his brother and a good chunk of his cognitive function. "Welcome to the belt! This is Raava One. Who am I talking to?"

I hear amusement in Jinora's voice as she replies. "This is Valkyrie Two, Raava One. How ya doing, Little Mouse?"

"Weeeeeee!" Bolin crows. "Please tell me the rest of the Ferrets are with you!"

Opal's voice is as amused as Jinora's but there's a bite too, as if she's talking through clenched teeth. "I'm going to kick your ass so hard, Bolin. And when I'm done, Boss and Avatar are going to take turns."

There's a brief pause and a crackle, then I hear Kuvira's pained rasp. "Fuck that. Avatar can wait until I'm done."

"If you all are done flirting," Izumi's says acidly. "Lieutenant Bolin, I hope I don't have to explain how much trouble you've caused."

Bolin's voice reveals his utter unrepentance. "Admiral! I'm so glad you're here!"

There's another crackle, and my gaze drops to the instruments. On the display the unmistakable signal of a space fighter underway appears next to Asteroid BZ76985, otherwise known as The Cave.

"Come on, now that we're all here we can go."

Izumi sputters. "Lieutenant! What—"

For the first time I clear my throat. "Where we going, Little Mouse?"

There's a pause, then a new voice comes through the comm. "Avatar. We go to our future. We go to the boundary between our reality and the next. We go to a place where pain no longer constrains us. We go to where there are no boundaries between those who know love."

"You think you know how to break the barrier between dimensions," I say. I hear the shake in my voice, but it's emotion, not fear; a calm such as I can't remember ever feeling has settled over me.

"Your word choice implies that I am guessing. I do not guess."

The AI sounds almost offended and I cough out a pained laugh. "The fact that you used the word love implies otherwise. Love isn't factual."

There's another long pause, then I hear Bolin again. "I taught her that, you know. How we humans usually go on faith, not facts."

"I'm sure you did," I reply. We're following Bolin's fighter in a long string, clearly headed towards the Terran sun though no one has commented on this fact.

"The facts are clear with enough consideration."

Asami speaks up finally. "Without successful reproduction by multiple parties to validate, it's still hypothetical supposition."

"Doctor Sato," Raava's voice seems to grow softer. "While I cherish the scientific rigor which you instilled in me, I have also grown more comfortable with the chaos and ambiguity that saturates or collective experience. I suspect you have evolved your own thinking in such matters."

"Perhaps." Asami admits wryly.

I realize the AI's voice and language choice has been changing for some time, becoming more nuanced, less robotic. I'm hearing real affection coming through the comm and, I finally recognize, not for the first time. Raava's personality has really been growing in all kinds of ways, right under our noses.

"Cap," Bolin speaks up again. "We know what happened to you and Boss. Don't be mad, but Raava heard what you both said at the hospital, through your implant. And she's been doing the research." His voice grows awed. "Wish I'd had her as a study buddy at the academy! Would have gotten way better grades…"

I roll my eyes because of course that's what he thinks about.

"Anyway," he continues. "We know how to do it. Just need your help to make sure it works."

"Why do I feel we're all going to be court-martialed when all is said and done?" Izumi's voice is resigned. "What exactly are we helping you with?"

"All you have to do is wait," Bolin says solemnly. "Raava left a program on all the space fighters in the hanger, but it will only activate on her signal."

As he spoke our fighters changed course, and I heard the cursing of the Bitches immediately.

"Dammit, Mouse," Opal swore. "Now what are you up to?"

"I love you guys," Bolin's voice is so very warm. "You're the best. I'll miss you!"

"Mouse?"

"Lieutenant!"

With a flare of his engine Bolin's fighter leaps away, and a few seconds later we see the flash when he enables the hyperdrive.

A moment later our three fighters start spreading out. I feel a shift as our noses tilt towards each other, the position thrusters nudging steadily into a new formation. I realize we're forming a triangle, all pointing to a common point even as our relative distance increases quickly.

"For fuck's sake," I hear Jinora curse. "Viper? Mad? Do you have cockpit control?"

"Negative." Izumi replies.

Ahead of me Opal slams her fist against the canopy. "Avatar!" She shouts over her shoulder, her voice loud in the confines of the canopy. "Can you flip the emergency override?"

"Too late," I hear Asami say, her voice shaking.

There's a series of soft thunks as our fighters launch our cherry bombs, their faint shapes moving with deadly precision into position.

A small click, then a familiar voice announces, "Interception in fifteen seconds."

"Shit!" I hear Asami swear, her voice panicked. "Korra?"

"Everybody hang on," I call out. My stomach roils at what I'm seeing. "He did a slingshot around the sun — he's coming in hot!"

Oh gods, Little Mouse…

The last thing I hear is Jinora's frantic scream. "My missles are arming!"

Everything goes white.