Nearly a week. Team Avatar remembered how time moved faster in these new lands than it did in their dimension. Regardless, it seemed to not move at all. The day after the poisoning, Durnaz went into the kingdom in hopes of finding that peace still existed between the islands. She was happy to see the subjects and citizens gliding with Aang, but she could feel tension in the air. Word could spread like flames. Subjects quickly approached and bowed to Durnaz.

"We prayed for your speedy recovery, Princess," one of them said.

"That cruel president won't get away with what he did to you."

More people began to agree with this idea. Durnaz could recognize the bitterness in their voices. If they were not stopped, they would want to begin a battle. Before she could say anything, they bowed again. This time, they did so for the queen.

"Justice finds the way to everyone who opposes it," the ruler stated calmly.

"Yes, Your Highness," they said, getting dismissed before leaving.

Durnaz sighed once they were gone. "I heard we're waiting for the Solstice."

"We are. Hopefully, it will provide us with all the answers we want and need. We're fortunate that the Solstice is coming so soon. If we had been forced to wait much longer, I am not sure if the truce would have been upheld."

"It still might not be," the younger airbender admitted.

Ebrah noticed an unreadable expression on her face. "Putting our kingdom out of your mind for a moment, would you want to attack?"

Durnaz could not give her an answer quickly. "I don't know," she divulged. "Buraid could've been poisoned. I'd never felt pain like that before. The idea of someone trying to make my brother experience that…" She paused, brows pinching together. "It's enough to make me consider a battle. When I remember everyone again, it's not something we could risk–not yet anyway. Not when we're so close. We've waited years to figure out what happened. What are a few days going to do?"

The queen nodded her head, understanding. Though she did not say it, she felt the same, if not more furious. Someone had targeted her children. If Ebrah saw Megat, she was not sure she would refrain from trying to use airbending to blow him off the entire planet. That was assuming she felt like being merciful.

"After these days, we will know what we need," is what she decided to say instead. The woman gestured to the common ground. "Are you going to glide with the others today?"

"Not this time. I'm just not in the right mindset for it. I wouldn't want to ruin this for everyone else."

"Then, what if we glided together?" the queen suggested. "I've been looking forward to my private lesson."

Durnaz smiled and hooked her arm around her mother's. "I think I'm up for that. First, you'll have to learn how to make your own air gliding staff."

The two airbenders began heading out to the other side of the island so that they could practice. While they did, the giant friends continued to speak with the people from both islands. A new person approached and was immediately spotted by Katara.

"Hi, Sabit," she greeted.

The firebender bowed to her. "Hello." She paused, looking uncertain. "If the Solstice passes without anything, will you stop us from resuming the war?"

Katara felt concerned. "Would you want to resume the war?"

"I'm not too sure if there would be another option," the assistant admitted. "I…I might not want to."

Sabit's gaze lingered on the people talking or gliding together. She had never thought she would see their groups mixing in ways that excluded bloodshed. Somehow, they could talk and even laugh like they were allies. It was almost a shame to consider taking that away from everyone. Could a friend become a foe again? Should one?

"Even if we don't get the answer, you don't have to go back to what you were doing," Katara suggested, getting the small bender to look up at her. "We've gotten this much information because of teamwork. Imagine how much further we could go if it continued."

"But everyone will be so hurt if they find out someone's behind this." Sabit closed her eyes, then reopened them with a sterner look. "But I suppose it's their own fault for coming here and speaking like they weren't enemies in war."

"I think both of your islands' people have a lot more to them than either group realized."

Sabit paused, glancing again at the crowd. "Maybe, but it might not be enough. You know what Megat did. Word will get out if it hasn't already. It could inspire others to do the same. Then, whatever it is we have here will be like it never existed."

Suki saw the duo talking and went over to them, hearing the assistant's last sentence. "It doesn't have to end like that. I can understand how tempting it is to just try to keep your people safe and mostly stay back as a war rages. It was that way for my home before. We never tried to stop the war either. We just wanted to make sure our people stayed alive."

"That's the best goal anyone could have."

The warrior shook her head in disagreement. "It's one of them, but I wound up helping my people even more by doing my part in stopping the war. If I didn't, then they probably would've been killed eventually. Are you so sure it won't happen to Xei?"

Sabit's determined expression faltered. "No, I'm not. If there was something I could do…"

"There's always something you can do," Katara insisted. "You might not be president, but you can still influence people. If you see them planning attacks, try to stop them. Convince more to come out here and learn about the Rhijaj subjects." The waterbender's smile became warmer. "You should learn about them as well. You've missed out on a lot of interesting discussions we've had, including a lot about platypus bears."

"Platypus bears?"

"See?" Suki added, chuckling. "You'd know what we were talking about if you'd been here."

A soft smile appeared on Sabit's face. "Fine, you've piqued my curiosity. I'll stay a bit longer, but I still have work to do."

"We don't need to take you away from it for long," Katara said. "You'd be surprised how much you can get to know someone in just a short time."

The firebender went with them towards the group. She stayed out there until the sky began to turn crimson from dusk. Some of the people remained there longer, but when they were gone, the friends sat down to discuss plans.

"Okay, so we need to figure out how to do this 'Solstice Stakeout,'" Sokka said.

"I believe we should try to have everyone there," Zuko suggested. "That way, we'd know that none of them could capture anyone."

"And I'll be able to feel where they are," Toph added. "If there's someone who can't get out of bed for whatever reason, they probably wouldn't be behind abductions anyway."

Aang nodded. "And if they're all able to see, we won't have to worry about them spreading rumors about what happened. They'll all know."

Sokka took out his machete and drew some circles in the sand. Afterwards, he pointed to the space between them.

"According to both groups, all the people who went missing were last seen right here."

"Mhmm," Toph said sarcastically. "Thanks for the visual aids, Sokka. They're always the best."

"It's the spot in between the islands. Seems like there's almost a point exactly in the middle of them in the water where it happens…assuming that they're actually getting taken there and this is a spirit matter."

"So, do we wait there?" Aang asked.

"I think so," Sokka answered. "It's our best lead." He stopped, thinking of something and pointing at the Avatar. "And if one of the spirits tries to abduct me, I expect to be found quickly."

"I don't know," Katara said, a teasing look in her eyes. "It could be unfair to deprive them of your company."

"It would be, but I think they'll manage," Sokka said, smirking a little. He let out a sigh as his expression became more serious. "This really needs to work."

"It will," Aang said confidently. "Even if it doesn't show what we're hoping it will, it'll work out how it's supposed to."

The team got ready for the night, and the next days passed like years. Through each of them, guilt weighed down more and more heavily on Megat's conscience. He had tried to inflict such pain on someone, only for the people of Rhijaj to still not retaliate. Every day after the poisoning, he used earthbending to stay high above the island, just waiting. He was waiting for the attack that he knew was coming. Of course it was. Why would they not try to avenge their princess even if she had not died? Who did that matter to? Buraid had threatened his life, and the president could not even find it in himself to disagree with the prince's intentions. He would have done the same had someone tried to do that to someone he loved. So, Megat found himself watching everyone on the day before the Solstice. He was waiting again, but he felt more nervous. Noticing someone's presence, he looked down and spotted Tipah.

"Could we speak for a moment?" the vice president requested.

Megat lowered the earth pillar back down to the ground. "We can. What's going on?"

"Tomorrow, are you going to be there with the rest of us?"

"I planned to."

An unreadable look was on Tipah's face as he listened. It was nearly impossible for Megat to not notice this.

"What?" he asked Tipah.

"Are you going to…work with us?"

"If you're asking whether or not I'm going to send our soldiers into battle, I won't. All the Rhijaj warriors would be there too. It's too risky."

"Is that the only reason?"

Megat frowned, but the expression was directed inwardly at his indecision as opposed to being for his friend. "I don't know anymore."

"Megat, there's a possibility that we won't get any answers tomorrow," Tipah said, looking concerned. "If we don't, I hope we also won't start attacking again. We've only begun to have our people connect with one another. There's so much more potential for the relationships to grow. It would be a shame to end them already."

The earthbender put a hand on his head. "I can't even consider the future right now. I keep thinking every day is going to have them marching into our territory with swords and the elements ready to attack us."

Tipah thought of the reason they would have wanted to come and attack, but he held his tongue. He needed to say nothing. Megat knew how he was feeling because his thoughts were the same.

"I could've gotten our people killed," he admitted. "I still could have. They might be planning an attack now, waiting for us to be unprepared. If they're not…" he paused, feeling a little ill again, "then, I might really have been ready to poison innocent people. I think I'd prefer the thought of them capturing our lost ones. Then, we'll have a reason for this war. If they didn't, why'd we even do all this?"

The waterbender looked out ahead at the other island. "Probably fear and a lack of immediate answers. That has larger effects than most realize."

"What do we do now?"

"Wait, I suppose. It's just one day. You don't want to consider the future, but it might not be bleak. It's also unavoidable, so let's experience tomorrow with clear heads and open minds."

After a few moments, the president nodded his head. "Let's do that. It might help us a lot."

This put a small smile on Tipah's face, but it was more polite than it was genuine. The waterbender left to return to the main part of the island while a soft sigh escaped Megat. He truly did want to give that method a try. He also hoped it would be easier than it sounded. While the man awaited the next day, Azula was awaiting her arrival in the new land. The Earth Kingdom was so large. It was divided into sections, some having kings like Kuei or Bumi, and others seemingly being under no official rule. This left them without official protection as well. If someone were to invade the land and claim it as their own, nothing would happen. If Azula decided she wanted subjects, no one would oppose her. The firebender was not particular…yet anyway. She would expand later, but for the time being, she just wanted to have some people beneath her again. It had been too long since she had a servant–since someone looked at her with a fear only known by those whose lives were in a ruler's hands. That was missed dearly.

During Azula's time preparing to enter Ba Sing Se with her so-called allies, whose names she would keep out of her mind, she had studied the maps of the Earth Kingdom thoroughly. Hours upon hours were spent memorizing routes, cities, the locations of streams, and more. She wanted to be ready for anything. So, Azula knew exactly where to take the war balloon to, even though she did not have a map with her. There was an abandoned mining town past Gaoling. The princess disliked the thought of being around such peasants, but no one would notice them. Their cries would go unheard. Gaoling was more tempting, and the thought of owning Omashu was enough to nearly make Azula change her course, but strategy was important. Unfortunately, so was patience. This was more challenging. Azula wanted to travel faster. She used fire blasts to raise the balloon high, but she had no control over the wind, so she was forced to let the environment decide her arrival time. The longer she was up there, the more irritation and thoughts of revenge consumed her.

The esteemed Fire Nation princess had escaped a prison. Zuko should have been locked away, and only if she had decided to show him grace, which was unlikely. Everything had been perfect for so long. Even after all that time alone in a cell, she had no answer for the question that plagued her brain: What went wrong? Azula looked over the edge of the balloon and down at the land below her. She did not know the people there, but she knew they were happy that the war ended. It seemed like everyone except her was happy about that fact. Maybe it went wrong when she involved others. Her elite team had been nothing more than traitors. Work was done better when only one person was involved. Maybe it went wrong the day her father sent Zuko after the Avatar instead of herself. It would have been a reward instead of a punishment. She could have demonstrated her skills and would have returned with the boy's charred corpse. Even without being asked, she had nearly achieved this goal. One lightning bolt through the heart while he was in the Avatar state, and Azula had won. Of course she had. Her aim was perfect. Her plan was flawless. Everything she did was exemplary, so how did she lose?

Azula's thoughts shifted from this topic as she felt a peculiar sensation. It was an indescribable sort of pull. She moved to the controls of the balloon, holding on tightly. While she did, dusk had come again in the tiny lands. Team Avatar watched the sun setting. For the first time that week, things were moving quickly. Toph began lowering the raised ground, allowing the area between the islands to fully become the ocean again. The friends began wading through the water so that they could stand in the middle. Gradually, people from the islands started to approach. They did so in large ships on either side of the friends. Ebrah was in the vessel in front of the others on the Rhijaj side; Megat was in the front for Xei. Behind them, it looked like there were enough ships for a fleet. It began to concern the friends. If this went badly, there could immediately be a battle. Matters were not helped by the ships being the same ones they had seen the soldiers and warriors use for combat.

"Don't they have any non-war ships?" Sokka asked under his breath.

"Maybe the others aren't big enough to fit everyone," Aang offered, still wishing that different vessels had been used.

The queen began to address the group. "Everyone from Rhijaj who is in good health is here. No one can take part in an abduction without being seen."

"Thank you, Queen Ebrah," Aang said, smiling hopefully. "We really appreciate you agreeing to this plan." He turned to look at those from the other island. "Is everyone from Xei present?"

"Yes," Megat answered. "We have a handful of people who are bedridden, but everyone else is here."

Aang thanked him as well. "Then, we just wait now."

"But what do we wait for?" Buraid asked, forcing himself to not look at the president, lest he do something impulsive.

"The spirits aren't always subtle," the Avatar said. "If they're behind this, we'll be able to notice easily. We just need to wait for a sign."

Buraid was not overly satisfied by this, but he said nothing. No one else said anything either. Time passed as the night got darker. It was so silent that it became eerie. Both sides were waiting for the worst possible outcome to happen, as they found it difficult to imagine anything else after so much time in war. Surely, the time with the giants was a fluke. The peace would be short-lived. As soon as they got their proof that they were right, they would be forced to attack again. Many of the citizens and subjects just wanted the next day to start so that the suspense would end. Just getting the confirmation that things were going to return to the way they once were seemed less stressful than the unknown. Then, it happened.

Team Avatar's attention moved to the water. Directly in the center, where the Xei territory became Rhijaj territory, there was a dark spiral. It was small, but it was deep. Just by looking from afar, Katara could see that the spiral led straight downwards into a dark area. She considered the results they had after moving the water to the sides.

"It's a portal," the waterbender said.

Aang's eyes were wide as he nodded. "You're right." He started to smile. "We were right. It really wasn't one of the islands," he added, looking at the groups. "This proves everyone's innocence! That portal is the answer to where everyone went."

"But how does that help us?" Durnaz asked, a little confused. "If they never came back, how can we retrieve them?"

"It's too dangerous for any of you to do it," Suki said. "We can go in and bring everyone back."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed. "Besides, with our size, we'll find them immediately. Some of you might get lost if you try to bring them back."

"But this portal must not stay open long," Tipah realized. "What if you don't make it back before it closes?"

"We'll find them before that happens," Toph said. "I'll sense where they are, then we'll be on our way back with a few armfuls of people. We just probably shouldn't start worrying about that for too long. Then, we might run out of time."

The small people still felt worried, but they agreed to the plan. Going through the water, Team Avatar got closer to the spiral. As soon as they did, they felt its pull. It was strong. It was even familiar. For a split second, this worried the friends, but they did not say anything to further upset the small people.

"Good luck," they heard Durnaz and Tipah say in unison.

It was difficult to hear anything else. The only sound in their ears was that of waves crashing. They could no longer feel the ocean floor under their feet. It seemed like the spiral was getting larger, becoming a funnel of water. Its edges went high above the friends, engulfing them. The people of Rhijaj and Xei watched the spiral grow and get louder before it suddenly stopped. Once again, the water was calm. Had they not been there to watch the giants vanish, they would have assumed nothing at all had even happened. They felt dread filling them, hoping that the giants would be able to return soon and safely with everyone. No ship moved from its location. Everyone wanted to wait. Almost no one's eyes moved from where the giants had gone. The only person to look away from them was Inaya. Her face turned pale and she grabbed Durnaz's arm. The princess turned to her, getting surprised by how scared she looked. Following her gaze, Durnaz realized the reason. Her own eyes widened and she gasped as a large figure with long, dark hair walked towards the islands.

"We have another giant visitor."