Welcome everyone to chapter 12!

It's time for Amira to meet the modern world of New York!

Also, try saying Déjà vu and Zambies XD It's fun

I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!


Very important note:

I haven't actually finished the Inheritance Cycle series or read it completely as I tend to skip all over the place when reading so I'm really and honestly sorry if I have or will get anything wrong. I honestly just know enough to understand the main storyline. Most of what I know comes from what I read in other stories on this site. I read like, half the first book, skipped around the second, then sorta played with the others... *embarrassed blush*

To be honest, I probably shouldn't be writing with so little knowledge buuut... *shrug* why not? Just please let me know if anything is wrong or mixed up or anything like that.

Thanks : )


Amira wasn't sure what she had been expecting.

The demigods of The Seven had been gathered the day after Annabeth's call with Reyna and Grover and were told what happened. They all remembered Percy and Annabeth's description of Tartarus and immediately called up their respective rides.

When Annabeth had said they were going to be traveling cross-country, Amira had thought of horses and maybe a type of wagon or something along those lines.

What the Alagaesian hadn't been expecting was a gigantic dog as tall as a man, a black horse with wings, and another horse that moved so fast she could barely see it. From what Annabeth said, there was still another ride on the way as well.

She had seen some pretty weird things in her life but Earth was something entirely new. Amira could only stare.

"That horse has wings," Amira noted numbly. Annabeth turned to the purple-eyed Rider from where she had been feeding the winged horse a sprinkle-covered doughnut.

"Amira, meet Blackjack." The blond introduced. "He's actually Percy's pegasus but since he's not here right now…"

Amira's purple eyes fell as Annabeth trailed off. She still felt guilty that Percy had gone through the portal instead of her but she knew that she could do nothing to change the past. Then she noticed a glint in the sky.

"Is that… a dragon?" She gasped as it got closer.

'Balenda?' She called out mentally. She prayed and hoped beyond hope but when she reached out, she felt a mind different than any other she had felt before. It had a strange metallic feel to it.

'That is not Balenda.' She thought to herself in confusion. 'But… that is the strangest mind I have ever touched.'

"What is that? It does not feel like a living mind yet at the same time… it is alive." Amira asked no one in particular.

"Amira, meet my boy!" Leo announced, seemingly appearing next to the Rider. "The fellow savior of the world and protector of Camp Half-Blood, I give you: Festus the Bronze Dragon!"

As if on cue, Festus then landed with an impressive roar and a loud 'thump' that shook the ground.

"You made a metal dragon? And it is alive?" Amira gasped, impressed but also confused as she stared in wonder at the giant machine.

"Well, I didn't make him at first but then he got shredded by lasers so I made him a new body. So yeah, I did." The Latino agreed proudly.

"By… lasers?" She tilted her head to the side, not understanding.

"Yeah, at King Midas's mansion. Me, Pipes and Jason were—"

"King who?"

"Anyway. We'd better get going." Annabeth interrupted. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get to California." She turned to the other members of their group. "Everyone ready?"

Amira watched with wide eyes as everyone mounted their respective mounts; Piper joined Hazel on Arion while Annabeth took off on Blackjack, and her expression again turned to shock when she saw Frank turn into a giant eagle, Nico climb atop the giant dog and disappear into a shadow, and Jason take off from the ground to fly through the air.

Leo climbed up onto Festus and looked down to see the purple-haired Alagaesian standing off to the side a bit uncomfortably.

"Hey, Amira? Wanna ride with me?" He offered, reaching out his hand to her.

Amira hesitated for a moment, not completely sure about riding a dragon made of metal, but she accepted Leo's hand anyway. He looked impressed as she expertly climbed up behind him then she slid her arms around his waist. The action brought a blush to the Latino's cheeks.

"To California we go!" Leo announced dramatically. Festus roared and leaped into the air.

And with that, the group flew off from the sunrise.

== Ω Ω Ω ==

Amira couldn't help but smile as Festus lept into the air: gods, she loved flying!

She had at first been wary as she had never before on a dragon made of metal but she quickly relaxed when she felt the familiar rush of wind on her skin, her long purple hair flowing out behind her.

But once the tall skyscrapers of Manhattan came into view and Amira's grin quickly faded and her jaw dropped.

"That…! Those are the most enormous buildings I-I have ever seen in my life!" She gaped.

"What, you've never seen a skyscraper before?" Leo teased with a grin. Then he seemed to realize that her shock was genuine. "Have you ever been to a city like the Big Apple?"

"Country girl, eh?"

"I do not understand."

"Never mind. Welcome to New York!" He chuckled, Amira's purple eyes still locked on the buildings.

"The reason for the name 'skyscraper' is clear though." As Festus flew over 5th Avenue, she stared in wonder at the number of people milling about. They were really high up but her enhanced eyes could see the ground easily. "There are so many people… And all in one place…"

The Rider marveled at the passing buildings, amazed by their sleek if somewhat dirty appearance and wondered how such buildings had been made. They had just passed by the city and were flying over an open space of land when Festus suddenly jerked to the side as if they had rammed into an invisible wall.

Amira felt panic grip her chest as she lost her grip on Leo. She tried to grab his outstretched hands but she had been thrown off the bronze dragon with a scream and was already falling.

She could hear Leo and the others screaming her name as she tumbled through the air and, seeing how far up they had been, she guessed she had about eight seconds before impact. She desperately tried to think of any spell that could help her but the panic that gripped her as she fell caused her mind to go blank.

'This feels familiar,' She thought sourly as she saw the ground rushing toward her.

Six

Five

Four

Three

Tw-

Something slammed into her.

Amira's eyes snapped open as it didn't feel like the ground but more like… arms. She looked behind her to see that Jason had his arms wrapped tightly around her and buried herself into his embrace.

Then the rushing air around them stopped. She realized that they had somehow stopped mid-air, not even inches above the ground. Gently, Jason lowered them down and Amira's feet touched the cement.

"Are you okay?" He quickly asked her. Amira could barely bring herself to nod.

"Y- yes. Th- thank you, J-Jason." She managed to stutter as adrenaline pulsed through her veins. Her heart was racing too fast to compare and her body shook with fear.

"Yeah, of course. I saw you fall and knew that Leo couldn't catch you in time. I was right below you so I flew down after you." He told her. His worry was shown in his blue eyes. "You sure you're okay?"

Amira tried to take a step forward but her legs were shaking too much and her knees gave out. Jason again caught her and he helped her over to a nearby bench. She took several shaky breaths as she sat.

Looking to her right she saw Hazel and Piper on Arion stopping nearby. The two girls jumped off the horse and ran over.

"Amira! Are you alright?!" They both exclaimed. Amira nodded but her hands were still shaking terribly; only once before had she come so close to dying.

"Y-yes." She assured. "I… I am just… quite shaken."

"Oh thank gods." Hazel sighed in relief. "We saw you fall but we couldn't get to you fast enough."

"I am alright now." The Rider assured, returning Hazel's hug; she couldn't help but like the daughter of Pluto.

Festus and Blackjack landed out of pedestrians' sight and Leo and Annabeth rushed over.

"Amira! Are you okay?" Leo gasped when they reached them. Amira's heart rate was slowly starting to return to its normal speed and she took a shaky breath, assuring them that she was fine.

"You came really close. Are you sure?" Annabeth repeated. She nodded.

"I am a bit shaky but I will be alright in time."

"Holy Hades..." Leo muttered, letting out a breath as he ran his hands through his curly hair. "I am so sorry Amira. I-I-I have no idea what happened! He just jerked and- I don't… Gods, I feel horrible."

"It was not your fault, Leo." The Rider assured. "I knew the dangers of flying yet I let my guard down. I am to blame; I was not being careful."

"I still feel terrible about it." He muttered.

Amira gave a small smile before leaning forward and lightly pressing her pink lips against his cheek. Leo stiffened as though he had been electrocuted and his face turned bright red.

"What matters is that you tried to help me. Thank you." She told him kindly.

From the corners of her eye, Amira could see their friends trying to hide their smiles but the failed attempts only served to make the son of Hephaestus redder. A giant eagle then landed next to them before changing to regular Frank.

"Hey, guys? I was scouting and I know you're still a little shaken up Amira but we should really get going again." He reported, panting slightly.

of people."

"So we're about to be attacked by zombies?" Piper repeated. Frank nodded. "Huh. I gotta admit, I never thought I'd be part of a real zombie apocalypse."

"Was there anything else? Did you perhaps hear anything?" Amira asked Frank, looking as though she had an idea of what the monsters were. Said demigod nodded slowly.

"Now that you mention it… they were making this weird sound. It was like they were laughing but it sounded insane. It was like they're crazy."

"The Laughing Dead," Amira muttered to herself, running a shaky hand through her long purple hair. "But that should not be possible! They could not- th-they should have been destroyed after the war..."

"What war? The war against the Giants ended a year ago." Amira looked up at Hazel, a little startled as she hadn't realized she had spoken aloud.

"Huh? Oh- I was, uh… I was simply thinking aloud." She tried to cover. "Frank is right, however, that we need to leave."

The girls and Leo quickly went back over to where Blackjack, Arion, and Festus waited. Jason took back off into the sky and Frank changed back into an eagle. Hazel, Annabeth, and Leo climbed onto their respective mounts but Piper saw Amira hesitate and noticed that she seemed a little wary to go back into the sky. So she walked back over to the purple-haired Rider.

"If you want, you could go with Hazel and I'll ride with Leo?" She offered. Amira smiled gratefully.

"Thank you." She saw Leo's face fall the smallest bit from the corner of her eye but tried to ignore it.

Piper jogged over to where Festus was and climbed on behind her best friend as Amira mounted Arion with Hazel. The daughter of Pluto spurred her horse forward. Amira yelped and grabbed onto Hazel when she felt the speed of the horse. The Roman laughed.

"Sorry! I probably should have warned you; Arion's really fast." She apologized, having to shout over the wind.

Amira saw Piper and Leo flying high above them and thanks to her enhanced senses as a Rider, she could see them talking. The two were too far away to read their lips properly but Amira could see her name mentioned several times. She was curious what they were talking about as the topic apparently included her but shook it from her head.

Amira rested her head on Hazel's shoulder and closed her eyes.


"So you looked like you knew what Frank was talking about earlier, Amira?"

The seven demigods and Rider had all stopped for a lunch break at about midday. Jason had found a fast-food joint so they were currently enjoying some burgers. Except Amira who, like Piper, didn't eat meat; they were eating salads.

Blackjack, Arion, and Jason (who had quickly eaten 3 burgers and was now asleep on their table) were tired from flying for so long and since the demigods were hungry they decided to stop for a bit. Nico had caught up with them as well and currently sat in the shadows off to the side.

Amira bit her lip in response to Annabeth's question.

"The Laughing Dead. Um, I do not think you will understand much if I were to explain..." She admitted, trailing off. She hadn't told any of them of Alagaesia besides Annabeth so they would be pretty confused if she tried to explain.

"Can you at least give a summary? In case we have to fight?" Frank pressed.

"Pray to your gods you will not have to," She muttered. Louder she said, "The Laughing dead are beings who have been cursed to feel no pain."

"Cursed not to feel pain? How?" Piper frowned.

"It is as I have said many times: magic." Amira was beginning to get tired of repeating that explanation so many times. She really didn't want to explain everything to them but it would be hard not to now. "It is very hard to kill one of the Laughing Dead as they are very fast. You may sever limbs and stab their bodies but they will feel pain as though you did nothing. What worries me is how those creatures are here."

"What do you mean? And how come we've never heard of them before?" Hazel wondered.

Amira bit her lip. She glanced at Annabeth with a question in her purple eyes and the blonde nodded, silently assuring her that it was safe to tell her secret.

"Because like me… they are from a different world." The Alagaesian confessed. Eyes widened at her confession. "I worriedly wonder how they arrived here as I was brought to your world through a wind-portal. But if the Laughing Dead can be summoned to... Earth?" Annabeth nodded, "Then that means that whoever summoned them may also be able to bring other creatures from my world here. Unlike your monsters, however, the creatures from my world will attack anyone."

"Wait, so those zombies could attack the morals too? Not just half-bloods?" Leo repeated.

"Possibly. I cannot confirm that as I do not fully know. I do not think so as we seem to be their target but there is always a chance." Amira responded with a frown, rubbing her arm.

"This isn't good," Jason stated, now awake, his head still resting on his arms on the table.

"Indeed."

"From what I saw, it looked like they were avoiding the mortals. It didn't look like they were seen any different than a really loud group of people." Frank remembered.

"That is good, at least." Amira sighed. "But they are still a danger and we must remain alert."

"It's about 1:00 now so we probably hurry up and finish," Annabeth told everyone.

The eight quickly finished their meals then again set off.

Several times they ran into the Laughing Dead, groups of no more than a dozen, and Amira explained that they could be killed by severing their head or stabbing their heart. The small battles were difficult but the half-bloods and Rider prevailed every time. There were about five attack groups of the zombie-like creatures before they seemed to have all been killed.

The rest of the day seemed uneventful so the group flew until nightfall before deciding to camp in a small clearing they found in a forest. There were enough people for double shifts so Annabeth and Amira volunteered for the first.

"So how're you holding up on Earth?" Annabeth asked Amira after their friends had fallen asleep, her voice soft.

"I do not know," The Alagaesian admitted after a minute. "Your whole world is so… it is so strange to me. There are no dragons, no Elves or Werecats or Urgals. There are only humans. Only a few can see or use magic and the evil from my world- evil that should've been destroyed hundreds of years ago- are now appearing here! My head aches just from the action of thinking. But although the Laughing Dead are bad I guess it could still have been worse."

"Worse than zombies who can't feel pain?" Annabeth's voice sounded doubtful but Amira nodded. "What could be worse than zombies?"

"The Ra'zac." The name sent a shiver down the blonde's spine. "Creatures immune to magic and inhumanely fast. The Ra'zac use bows with arrows coated in Seithr Oil, a deadly poison, and ancient leaf-bladed swords. As they grow older they grow smarter, faster, and deadlier." Amira quoted what Eragon had once told her, shaking her head. "All areas where humans are weak, the Ra'zac are strong."

"Sounds nasty." Annabeth grimaced, feeling cold despite the warmth of the summer's night.

"Be glad they are long dead and gone and shall not be a threat to us." Amira agreed.

She picked at the grass, the two of them sitting in silence, except for the occasional breeze through the trees. An hour passed before Amira heard a slight rustling in the bushes. A second later there was a 'twang' and she immediately threw herself at Annabeth, knocking them both to the side as an arrow flew where her head had been mere seconds before.

Amira spoke a curse that would have earned a harsh mouth-slapping from Eragon and signaled Festus. The dragon responded by roaring loudly and the six other demigods woke with a start.

"Wha-? What's going on?" Hazel gasped as she fumbled for her Spatha.

Hidden by the surrounding trees, The Ra'zac fired an arrow at the daughter of Pluto but Amira quickly drew her sword and sliced it from the air.

"WE NEED TO LEAVE! NOW!" She shouted, catching her friend's attention.

Hearing the no-nonsense in her tone, Annabeth and the others managed to pack up their small camp in less than a minute before sprinting to their respective mounts. Jason was about to take off but stopped when he noticed that Amira wasn't following.

"Amira, what are you doing? Let's go!" He called. Amira shook her head as she kept her eyes on the three rapidly approaching creatures, Arvindr in hand.

"Leave! I will be fine!" She commanded over her shoulder.

"But-"

"NOW! Go, I will catch up!"

Jason looked reluctant to leave her on her own but took off into the air.

The Ra'zac were now only a dozen feet away and Amira hefted her sword. She took a breath and memories of her training flashed through her mind as she swung her first attack. The Ra'zac raised its leaf-bladed sword to defend before issuing a strike of its own. She dropped to her knees and the blade passed inches above her head before jumping back to her feet and attacking once more. She heard a whizzing sound and thrust her hand out.

"Skölir!" She chanted.

(Shield)

The arrow bounced harmlessly off the magic shield that now surrounded her but unfortunately, her magic had no use against the Ra'zac themselves. She stabbed her sword forward at one then threw herself back into a flawless backflip to dodge the other, drawing her dagger mid-air, then landed and before continuing to fight, taking on the three adversaries at once with only her sword and dagger. She managed to hold her own for a surprising time but she gritted her teeth when she realized that even though she was great with a sword, the Ra'zac were better. Her eyes widened when she saw that the third Ra'zac had slipped her mind and was about to attack her unprotected back.

Seconds before she was sliced in half, a sudden stream of fire came raining down from above her and the Ra'zac scurried back. Leo then landed beside her, having jumped off of Festus, and thrust out his hand. More flames billowed towards the creatures and the third Ra'zac shied away, dropping their weapons.

"Amira, go! I'll hold these off. Go!" He told the Rider, intensifying the flames.

Amira watched him in shock, not having known about his power over fire, and tried to argue but Jason swooped beside the Rider when she didn't move. He grabbed her and launched them both back into the air within a second. She tried to tell him to put her back onto the ground but the son of Jupiter ignored her and flew up to Festus to help her onto the dragon's back. Now too far away, Amira could only watch helplessly as Leo continued his attack on the three Ra'zac.

Keeping one hand lit, the son of Hephaestus reached into his tool belt and pulled out a hammer. Igniting it, he threw it at the nearest Ra'zac and even though it ducked, the black robes it wore caught fire. The creature fled, shrieking as it shedded its robe. There was a blur behind the second Ra'zac and it collapsed with a deep slash across its back. Leo cut off his flames and ran towards the streak, vaulting onto Arion behind Hazel as the horse slowed.

The two took off and Amira sighed in relief as she watched Arion run ahead to meet with the rest of the group, seeing that Leo was safe now.

"I think we may be safe now," She announced warily.

"Don't jinx us," Jason warned from where he hovered in the air beside Festus. Sure enough, not three seconds later there was a loud screech that made Amira cover her sensitive ears. She cursed again.

The Lethrblaka had arrived.


And that concludes the eleventh chapter of A Strange and Different Land!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you chose to continue the story. Please feel free to leave a review. Criticism, advice, compliments, or corrections are welcome.

Have a good one and I'll see you later!