Welcome everyone to chapter 24!

Ladies and Gentlemen and those weird people in the corner eating chips! It is story/explanation time!

v Dead serious v

I know some of you do that thing where you skip the long chapters but please read these ones because otherwise, nothing will make sense.

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

(Also, Annabeth talks in Greek)


For a moment no one said anything- no one could say anything- because the fact that two humans had disappeared into thin air struck them dumb.

Piper stepped forward and waved her hand where Amira once stood as if checking that the Alagaesian hadn't just disappeared from view. But there was nothing left, not even a breath.

"How is this possible?! No one can just disappear into nothing!" Nico stuttered.

"You can." Leo pointed out.

"Shadow Traveling is different; I use the shadows as a portal. But Amira just disappeared! There isn't a trace of her anywhere!"

"Maybe Tartarus saw she was in trouble and teleported her away? We're right above the Underworld so he's a lot stronger here." Jason suggested.

"That makes sense." Annabeth agreed. "But why wait until then? Why not bring her back sooner?"

"Maybe he was… ugh! I don't know! I'm just trying to think of possibilities." Jason stuttered angrily.

"We got how Amira disappeared but what about Haz- Ha- Hazel?" Piper choked on her friend's name, tears falling as she collapsed to her knees with a sob.

Fury burned high in Nico's eyes and he clenched his hands, trying and failing to fight back tears.

"I- I don't know." Annabeth sighed, pain and sadness visible in her grey eyes as she knelt beside Piper's sobbing form. She too was crying, though her tears fell silently. "I hate to admit it but she could have killed any of us easily when she got up. So why her?"

Jason nodded, hands in fists.

"It was like that when we were fighting. She was only giving half throughout the whole battle. There were multiple occasions where she easily could have used her magic or just sliced me open. She wasn't using all her strength or energy either; she was holding back for some reason." He remembered.

"What do you think Leo? You spent the most time with her." Annabeth asked. Leo's head snapped up to the blonde. He had zoned out most of the conversation, hearing but not really listening.

"Sorry, but I have no idea." Leo admitted, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "Can we, uh- can we go back outside now?"

"Leo's right. We shouldn't stay underground for too long. Tartarus has close to full power here." Nico agreed quietly. Everyone agreed but when they started to leave they noticed Piper wasn't moving. She was staring at a wall off to the right.

"Piper? C'mon, let's go." Jason called. She didn't listen.

Instead, she stood and started walking to the stone. She reached her hand out but instead of hitting the rock, her fingers passed through the stone. A smug smile crept across her lips and she stepped forward and disappeared through the wall.

"Piper!" Jason started to run forward but then the stone flickered. Then the illusion faded and there stood Piper in a new and unfamiliar tunnel.

"C'mon." She called, running down the tunnel. Jason, Annabeth, Leo, and Nico followed after a moment's pause.

"How did you know this tunnel was here?" Nico asked when he caught up with the daughter of Love. Piper shrugged.

"The texture. The walls of the cavern are cracked and uneven but that one was smooth so I figured either someone had been trying to carve it or it was fake." She explained.

"Oh." Was all Nico could say.

"Wait! Guys look." Jason called. They all stopped as he leaned down and picked up a piece of cloth. Their eyes widened.

It was part of Hazel's shirt: the pattern was exactly the same.

"But... that's impossible!" Piper exclaimed, taking the torn cloth from her boyfriend. "But she's- this - it must have been torn off before."

"We haven't been down this tunnel yet so it couldn't be." Annabeth reminded.

"Then how is this here? We watched Amira- Hazel's-" Leo choked up along with the others at the reminder, shrinking back from the death glare given by Nico.

"Maybe Amira left it as a fake trail?" Jason suggested. "She could have taken a part of her shirt when she grabbed her and made this tunnel then left this here to make us follow her."

"I don't think so," Piper argued. "I don't think she would go through the trouble of making an entirely new tunnel. Even if she does have her magic back, she told me that the strain of teleporting herself or something could kill her."

Nico ground his teeth together and clenched his fists in annoyance.

"Why is one girl so goddamn hard to find?!" He shouted angrily. "You think you finally figured out what she's planned and what she's doing then nope! She changes everything over again and does that s**t like swearing herself to our enemy or killing my sister!"

"Try to calm down, Nico!" Piper laced the smallest bit of charmspeak into her voice. "We'll find her; Amira is not going to get away with what she did."

"Damn right she won't." Nico turned and stormed away.

The five continued to rush down the tunnel for several more minutes. They weren't sure where it led so they were surprised when they came out just beside the entrance where they had entered. They climbed out, wincing as the bright sun shone into their eyes.

"Look! Over there!" Annabeth immediately gasped.

The four followed her gaze to where she was pointing and saw a faint shine as the sun reflected off something purple. Looking closer, they saw the purple sway and move from sight.

"Amira."

"Back here in thirty minutes!" The daughter of Athena commanded. In silent agreement, they all quickly split up. Leo and Piper ran off as one pair, Annabeth went with Jason, and Nico went alone.

Thirty minutes passed fast. The five looked as far as they dared to venture but they eventually had to meet back up at the park.

"We missed her," Piper announced dejectedly as a greeting once they all gathered back together.

"You what?!" Nico demanded angrily.

"We missed her. We got so close! I had her in my arms but she got away; she's just too slippery!" Leo grumbled.

"Dannazione sfortuna! Quella cagna! Fanculo a tutta quella puttana, ho finito con le sue cazzate!" Nico practically screamed as he cursed in Italian. He kicked the bench they were beside, uprooting the legs and throwing it back from the strength.

"Let's just get back to Camp. We'll figure out what to do next there," Annabeth decided after Nico's rant calmed.

They managed to catch a cab and they all climbed in. Annabeth told the driver where to go and they started off. The ride was silent and depressing, them all thinking of their failed mission while attempting to hold back their sobs and tears. No one said anything. The sadness and depression in the air were almost choking.

"Oh gods. Guys... what are we going to tell Frank?" Piper broke the silence with her shaking voice. No one answered.

"I don't know." Annabeth eventually sighed, wiping her grey eyes. "I… we'll figure something out."

The cab dissolved back into silence until they reached the trail leading to Camp Half-Blood. The driver was confused why she was dropping off a bunch of teenagers in the middle of the woods but brushed it away once they paid her.

Nico, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, and Jason all started up the hill but when they reached Half-Blood Hill, their hearts sunk as they saw Frank and Murtagh waiting.

"Hey guys! How'd it go… What's wrong?" Frank greeted, his voice starting out excited but fading out as he became worried, seeing his friends' expressions.

"And where is Amira?" Murtagh then asked, confused as to why she wasn't with them as finding her had been the whole reason for their mission.

"We, uh… we ran into some trouble," Jason told them, not meeting their eyes.

"Hold on, where's Hazel?" Frank frowned as he noticed the missing person, looking around. Nico said nothing and left for his cabin. The son of Mars looked increasingly worried. "C'mon guys, talk to me. What happened?"

"Frank, come with me. There's something… We need to talk." Piper said quietly.

Frank's face fell to horrified fear but he followed the daughter of Aphrodite as she led him away.

"What happened to you all?" Murtagh asked the remaining demigods. Annabeth sighed.

"Our mission failed. Amira, she- she ambushed us and got away. We'll explain it all later." With that the daughter of Athena left to her cabin, exhausted. Jason followed her example, leaving Leo with Murtagh.

Several minutes of silence passed between the two.

"You're not the only one who cares about her," Leo suddenly said, his sad eyes gazing away into nothing.

"What?" Murtagh frowned, confused.

"You're not the only one who cares about Amira."

"I know that."

"Yeah but there are different ways to care for someone and sometimes you don't get to choose. You're not the only one who misses her and wants her back. We all do but with all that's happened and what's going on... If you manage to find her, just know that she's changed. She isn't the same person you used to know."

Leo then turned and walked down to his cabin, leaving Murtagh alone on the hill.


That night, tears fell as Hazel's shroud burned.

Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Nico, and Frank stood around the fire and watched as the flames blazed. It was grey with the symbol of Pluto embroidered in the center. Not a single eye was dry as the friends stood in an attempted silence, the sounds of sobs and stifling cutting through.

Until that moment, they all felt as though it may have possibly been a bad dream. But now, watching the fire burn...

Jason stood with his arms around Piper, who was crying heavily into his chest. Leo was silent as tears slipped down his cheeks, Annabeth the same. Frank looked like he was trying to remain strong but the tears flowing in streams and sobs that escaped betrayed him. And Nico…

The son of Hades hadn't said a single word since returning to Camp Half-Blood. In fact, he hadn't even left his cabin until that moment. He stood off to the side in the shadows, watching silently with an emotionless expression. He wasn't currently crying but his eyes were very red and there were obvious tear stains on his cheeks as that told them he had been crying for hours.

Hazel's death sat on them heavily. It was as though Atlas had given them each the sky, hearts broken beyond repair.

Hazel... she had always been the sweetest and most innocent of the small family. She brought smiles and good-natured teasing to her friends. The way she would fan her face when she got flustered, her sweet smile, the gentle mother-like nature she had for everyone… Her curly brown hair was always a beautiful mess, her dark skin looked so warm beneath the sun...

Leo wondered silently to himself if his own funeral had been like Hazel's was at the moment: heartbreaking, horrible, and the silent utterly deafening.

Her absence was going to leave a giant hole in their lives.

Annabeth felt as though she should say something but couldn't bring herself to. So she stood silently, feeling the heat of the fire on her skin. She still could hardly believe that Amira had done something so… so evil.

Slowly, one by one, the small group left to return to their respective cabin until Annabeth stood alone.

"Tha eísai pánta stin kardiá mas. Boreíte na xekourasteíte stin aiónia eiríni." She whispered into the night air.

(You will always be in our hearts. May you rest in eternal peace)

Annabeth continued to watch the flames until they died to smoldering embers, sparks drifting into the night sky and fading away to nothing.


And that concludes the twenty-fourth 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!