[Aaand down he goes, at least until he wrestles his way to freedom. He remains crouching so he can get Hamlet into a headlock.]

They look like potatoes. I have heard them called yams. [Korra might be able to understand Chekov most of the time, but it's hard to tell if he said yams or yamps. Good luck with that.] Personally, I am suspicious of any potato that isn't the right color.

Regardless, I think I will try to cook one. If they're edible, it would be a shame to not eat them.

[At least they make acceptable dog toys.

Chekov forgets, occasionally, how perceptive Korra can be. He bites back the instinctual reply--yes, of course, and you?--because they're talking. Talking is important, and he needs to show Korra that he trusts her enough to open up to her. (There's a difference between being a friendly chatterbox and being someone who is willing to talk about deeply personal matters.]

Actually, no.

[He sits obediently. Good poodle.]

Do you remember when we first met and we were both wondering who we are beyond our primary identities? You as the Avatar, me as a genius? I am having that problem again. Now that there are so many people from my world and beyond my time, everything that I know is obsolete. I don't know what to do when I cannot be a genius, especially with crews that are so... distant? That may not be the right word.

Maybe I'm still a genius, but I am useless to them. There is nothing I can do that they can't.

[He slumps down.]

Even with my crew, nothing is the same as it was at home. Is it possible that they don't trust me, now that I have been here longer than any of them?

Six hundred and thirteen days... no, I suppose not.

[This doesn't cheer him up.]

I can't be anything other than useless when they refuse to give me full access to their information. Do I need to prove myself to them?

[He bumps her back.]

No. Perhaps I should.

Korra? In the event that I am no longer a genius, will you pretend to be impressed by my intellect anyway?

See! This is the first sign of no longer being a genius.

[But she has him teasing now, which is an improvement.]

You aren't an idiot. In some ways, you are much smarter than I am.

I will not say that for the rest of the City.

The universe is sending a message, but I don't know what it is.

[He puts it in his bag. Hopefully these things are tasty.]

How is your head?

[For a moment, Chekov can't decide if he should be amused by Korra's mild misfortune or be a decent human being. Decency ultimately wins out.]

Would you like ice? Because there is something else I would like to tell you, and I would rather your head not hurt too much.

No, I am very confident in my nationality.

Mostly I wanted to tell you that I consider you my closest friend in the City, and if I should leave the City, I would like you to take anything of mine that you please. Maybe it would be best to leave technological equipment to my crew, but I would want you to have everything else.

Nothing! There is no need to worry, I have no intention of leaving. I have only been thinking about this because the others from my world--all of them--are eager to find a way out, and, at the rate research is being conducted, I think it is only a matter of time before they are successful. This wouldn't be sending everyone home... I doubt that is possible. It would only allow us to leave.

I don't like working on these projects and I don't want to leave, but I will need to go if there is success. It should be some time coming, but the more the others bring it up, the more I think about it.

It looks as though we would need to find a way out that does not stabilize the whole City. To do so, we will need to create a localized point of escape and somehow find a way to locate the correct universe...