Sweet Revenge

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or anything related.

Note: This was written for the Original Cliché challenge in Veritaville. It is suppose to be cliché.

Ali's heart pounded as she looked around the dark forest. There was no sound whatsoever. She waited for something- anything- to go wrong.

Being on the run from the gods did that to you.

Every single flipping god hated Ali's guts. No joke. All because of her idiot mother. Ali glared at a fern. Why the hell was a maiden goddess having a kid? It made no sense. And then she went into hiding. The nerve of that chick! Seriously, you get all your powers taken away (plus your little cheerleaders) and then you run and hide like a scared little kid!

Ali huffed rested her back against a tree, crossing her arms. All the gods were after her now as if it was Ali's fault that her mother got knocked up and didn't have the dignity to live up to it. So they tried imprisoning her, but they underestimated her willpower. She waited endless days and nights for the one time they would leave her without a guard. Although, she couldn't blame the gods' ignorance for her escape; it had been carefully crafted, right down to each cough and sneeze. Ali knew that if she pretended to be sick, the gods would call for Apollo, who would refuse to help her (hello, she was the reason his sister was missing), making a big enough distraction to help her escape.

A small smile found its way to Ali's mouth. The plan was genius; nearly flawless. Nearly, because the stupid gods had implanted a tracking device in her arm. A fucking tracking device! Who the hell does that? Idiots, Ali thought bitterly. And the gods are definitely idiots. Ali was surprised she lasted so long without being caught. Though she had left some … traps for the gods …

Just then, a soft sound came from the woods. Ali's breath caught in her throat. Had the gods finally found her? She wasn't ready to go back to prison; it was cold, dark, wet, and the food was disgusting. Seriously, you'd think the prison of the gods would at least have decent food –nothing gourmet, just not repulsive. But no, that would mean the gods wouldn't have as much food in their abundance of victuals.

A twig snapping reminded Ali of her priorities. She quickly hid behind the fern she had been glaring at. Just in time, too. Seconds later, two forms emerged from the trees.

"Seriously, Annabeth," a teenage boy's voice said. Ali lifted her head just high enough so that she could see above the fern without being seen herself. Standing yards away were two teenagers: a boy and a girl. The girl had blonde curly hair and stunning gray eyes, while the boy had jet black hair and sea green eyes. Ali could tell by the way he was talking to her that the two were a couple. And honestly, they were a great couple, looks wise.

"Do you really think she'll want to help the gods?" the boy continued, and Ali had no problem guessing who they were talking about. They had been sent to find Ali and bring her back to the gods.

"Honestly, Percy," the girl- Annabeth? - said, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. Ali noticed that both Annabeth and Percy had streaks of gray in their hair. How strange, Ali thought, turning her ear towards the pair so she could hear their conversation better. "No. There is no way this girl is going to come back and help the gods. After what they did to her, we'd be lucky if she stuck around for two minutes."

You got that right, Annie, Ali thought, almost smiling. This girl was smart, probably a daughter of Athena.

"Then why are we doing this?"

The girl paused for a minute biting her lip as if she was debating over the right words to say. She finally spoke after a minute or two. "Because she is a danger to the gods and everyone else. And because the gods asked us to."

The boy looked as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent, and Ali could tell he was thinking deeply.

Suddenly, Ali felt a slight tap on her shoulder. It took all her willpower not to scream and run, but a small gasp escaped her lips. She slowly turned around, and saw a boy around her age –fifteen or sixteen- crouched down behind her. He had long blonde hair and light green eyes. His green eyes met her pale blue eyes, and Ali immediately knew that he was on her side. She could tell by the hatred that filled his eyes as he glanced over at Percy and Annabeth.

He pulled off a backpack, which Ali hadn't noticed before, and pulled out two weapons: a foot-long hunting knife and a bow and quiver of arrows. The bow was carved carefully out of a dark purple colored wood with flowers carved onto it. Ali felt a sudden urge to grab it and shoot something –anything- with the bow and arrows. It was probably due to the fact that she was Artemis' daughter, but the bow was gorgeous all the same.

Ali reached out to touch the bow, but the boy pulled it away, shaking his head slightly and mouthing the word, "Wait." Ali sighed; she was never one to be patient.

The boy then pulled another object from the backpack: a slingshot. Ali shot him a confused look, but he held up a finger, signaling for her to, yet again, be patient. She sighed and sat back as she watched the boy pick up a rock from the ground, tucking it in the slingshot and aiming in the direction of Percy and Annabeth's voices. He slowly let go, and there was a scream followed by a thud!

"Annabeth?" Percy's worried voice called, but by the time he realized what happened, the slingshot boy had sent another rock in his direction. Seconds later, Percy's screams of help were silenced. The boy stood up and brushed off his pants while Ali mimicked his motions.

"Who are you?" Ali asked curiously, looking over the boy. Now that the two were standing, she was shocked by this boy's height. He was tall, maybe six foot five at the least.

"Ryan Jenkins, son of Hermes," the boy said as he cleaned up his things.

"OK, I'm Ali Torres, daughter of-" Ali started, but Ryan cut her off.

"Daughter of Artemis; I know. I think that everyone's heard of you," Ryan said. Ali could tell by the smile on his face that he meant it with good intentions, but she could still feel her blood pressure rising at her mother's name.

"Yep, that's me," Ali muttered, turning around as she started to walk deeper into the woods.

"Wait, Ali," Ryan called, running up towards her. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Ali paused, turning around slowly. "Do you need me or something?" No one was ever nice to her unless they needed her for something. It was just a fact of life.

"Actually," Ryan said, a smile spreading across his face, "I've got a proposition for you."

"You do now, do you?" Ali replied, raising her eyebrows. Well, this ought to be interesting.

"How would you like to join the Titan Army and help them rise up to defeat the gods?" Ali tried to interject, but Ryan held up a finger to silence her. "All you have to do is pledge yourself to Kronos, and you'll never have to listen to the gods again."

Ali paused, thinking. Did she really want to do this? Her first instinct was to say yes, but as she thought about it more, something held her back.

"C-can you get the tracker out of my arm?" she asked softly, her voice shaking slightly.

"Ali, we can do anything," Ryan said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "The Titans, we're just one big, happy family. We actually care about each other, unlike those unforgiving gods."

Something about Ryan's words cut into Ali. People would care about her. Care about what she thought. Ali bit her lip before answering in a quiet voice. "I-I'll do it."

"Great!" Ryan said with a smile. He grabbed her arm and started to lead her away, then paused as if he had forgotten something. "Oh, wait. Here's something I took from the Hunters. I saw you looking at it earlier." He looked in his backpack and pulled out the purple bow and quiver of arrows. Ali's hands trembled as she picked it up. Her hands fit perfectly into them, as if they were made for her.

"Word on the street is that they belonged to Atalanta, the great huntress," Ryan said, but Ali was only half listening. She was mesmerized by the delicate designs that could have only been hand-carved. "They say she called it Heartbreaker, because Prince Meleager gave it to her as a token of love, but she only accepted it after he died in his honor."

Ali found that interesting, how she was holding the same bow as a famous huntress who was written about and remembered as a great face in history.

"You ready?" Ryan asked as soon as he had finished putting everything back in his backpack.

"Yeah," Ali said, strapping the bow and quiver around her shoulder, smiling. "I'm ready."

And she was. Ali was ready for a new life. A new life where she wouldn't be judged by who her mom was. A new life where people wouldn't punish her for her mother's mistakes.

For once in her life, Ali Torres had something to look forward to.

Ok, I said it before, but I'll say it again, because I'll get the doofus who won't realize that this is cliché on purpose. I'd like to thank my fabulous beta, Kaleidiscope Flowers, because, as stated, she beta-ed for me :)

Anyways, reviews are loved. Even flames, especially revenge flames ;)

Luffles,

Tay(: