The Mark of Athena: Top Ten Scenes!

...Okay, if I'm being honest, there's eleven of them. And at least three of my "scenes" are really several related scenes that have been merged together so that I can get the total number down to something that resembles ten. Also, the ranking is mostly flexible. The top three are easily the best, but all of the others could pretty much be in any order you want--they were all just such great scenes!

In any case, I give you Heather's Top Eleven Favorite Moments from The Mark of Athena!

SPOILERS BELOW

#11 - "Keep It Simple."

  "Annabeth . . . sometime, maybe could you help me with another problem that's not so simple? I've got . . . I guess you'd call it an Achilles' heel."
  Annabeth felt like she'd just had a drink of Roman hot chocolate. She'd never really gotten the term warm and fuzzy, but Frank gave her that sensation. He was just a big teddy bear. She could see why Hazel liked him. "I'd be happy to," she said. "Does anyone else know about this Achilles' heel?"
  "Percy and Hazel," he said. "That's it. Percy . . . he's a really good guy. I would follow him anywhere. Thought you should know."
  Annabeth patted his arm. "Percy has a knack for picking good friends. Like you. But Frank, you can trust anyone on this ship. Even Leo. We're all a team. We have to trust each other."
  "I--I suppose."
  "So what's the weakness you're worried about?"
  The dinner bell sounded, and Frank jumped.
  "Maybe . . . maybe later," he said. "It's hard to talk about. But thanks, Annabeth." He held up the Chinese handcuffs. "Keep it simple."

Since Frank spent most of the book being portrayed as grumpy or scary or even a little unintelligent, I was so glad he had this moment with Annabeth to reassert his teddy bear tendencies. What a heartwarming scene! That being said, there is a part of me that wishes that this conversation had gotten Annabeth thinking about Percy and his own Achilles' heel, or sudden lack thereof. I would have liked to see that addressed, maybe along with the tattoos the Romans gave him when he became praetor.


#10 - Jason's Birthday

  Jason plucked an extinguished candle from his cake. "I've been thinking."
  That snapped Piper back to the present. Coming from your boyfriend, I've been thinking was kind of a scary line.
  "About?" she asked.
  "Camp Jupiter," he said. "All the years I trained there. We were always pushing teamwork, working as a unit. I thought I understood what that meant. But honestly? I was always the leader. Even when I was younger . . . "
  "The son of Jupiter," Piper said. "Most powerful kid in the legion. You were the star."
  Jason looked uncomfortable, but he didn't deny it. "Being in this crew of seven . . . I'm not sure what to do. I'm not used to being one of so many, well, equals. I feel like I'm failing."
  Piper took his hand. "You're not failing."

Okay, okay. I know that Piper and Jason have been getting a bad rap on the internet, but while I hear the complaints and can even kind of see why people are saying these negative things, I honestly do not agree with them. Sure, Jason was a bit of an idiot in MoA at times, especially wherever Reyna was involved. But I've seen worse. He'd never committed to Reyna, not once. And once he had committed to Piper, he didn't go back on that by flirting with Reyna too. I see a guy with a few problems trying to be as good as possible. And we can see from this scene that despite his royal parentage, Jason most definitely isn't arrogant. He's got insecurities, just like anyone else. I can honestly say that I like Jason more for his imperfections and vulnerabilities. And Piper? I see a strong female demigod who isn't sure how she fits in with all of her madly talented friends. I've heard people compare her to Bella Swan from Twilight ("Oh, I'm so popular, I hate it. Everyone likes me. I wish they would just leave me alone.") but I don't think that's fair to Piper. So she's never cared much about appearance. We can definitely thank her famous dad for that! She grew up in a world where her dad was idolized for his looks, and it was constantly pulling him away from her. Is it any wonder that she doesn't want her appearance to be the most important thing about her? I think Jason and Piper are good for each other. Plus, let's face it. The whole series is about bringing the Greeks and the Romans together. Jason's Roman and Piper's Greek. Face the music, people. This was endgame from book one.

Anyway, I loved this. We didn't get to spend a lot of time in Jason's head this time around because he wasn't being very forthcoming with Piper, so seeing him open up to her (not to mention promise that he's not stupid enough to break up with her!) was very endearing.


#9 - Fish-Centaur Brownies

  The dmigods paced the deck in silence, staring at the water and hoping for a miracle.
  When it finally came--three giant pink bubbles bursting at the surface off the starboard bow and ejecting Frank, Hazel, and Leo--Piper went a little crazy. She cried out with relief and dove straight into the water.
  What was she thinking? She didn't take a rope or a life vest or anything. But at the moment, she was just so happy that she paddled over to Leo and kissed him on the cheek, which kind of surprised him.
  "Miss me?" Leo laughed.
  Piper was suddenly furious. "Where were you? How are you guys alive?"
  "Long story," he said. A picnic basket bobbed to the surface next to him. "Want a brownie?"
  Once they got on board and changed into dry clothes, the crew gathered on the quarterdeck for a celebratory breakfast. While Leo fussed over his helm controls, Hazel and Frank related the story of the fish-centaurs and their training camp.
  "Incredible," Jason said. "These are really good brownies."
  "That's your only comment?" Piper demanded.
  He looked surprised. "What? I heard the story. Fish-centaurs. Merpeople. Letter of intro to the Tiber River god. Got it. But these brownies--"
  "I know," Frank said, his mouth full. "Try them with Esther's peach preserves."
  "That," Hazel said, "is incredibly disgusting."
  "Pass me the jar, man," Jason said.
  Hazel and Piper exchanged a look of total exasperation. Boys.

No matter who or where you are, boys will be boys. I don't know, guys. I loved getting this scene from all our newest demigods. Percy and Annabeth got a lot of screen time (and who is definitely NOT complaining about that? Me, right here!) but it was nice to see the others bonding over brownies and exasperating boyfriends. Especially Leo. He worried so much about never fitting into this group that I couldn't help jumping for joy when Piper threw herself off the boat when she saw he was alive. Leo needs the reminder every once in a while that these people really do care about him.


#8 - Bagel Sharing and Promised Returns

  Piper was happy to see Annabeth with a sparkle in her eyes because Piper had never had a better friend. For months, Annabeth had been tormenting herself, her every waking moment consumed with the search for Percy. Now, despite the dangerous quest they were facing, at least she had her boyfriend back.
  "So!" Annabeth plucked the bagel out of Piper's hand and took a bite, but that didn't bother Piper. Back at camp, they'd had a running joke about stealing each other's breakfast. "Here we are. What's the plan?"
  "I want to check out the highway, Piper said. "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."
  "Sounds dangerous!" Leo said cheerfully. "Well . . . you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. And, uh, Annabeth--I could really use your help. You're the only other person who even sort of understands engineering.
  Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. "He's right. I should stay and help."
  "I'll come back to you." He kissed her on the cheek. "Promise."
  They were so easy together, it made Piper's heart ache.

All together, now: awwww! Piper said it best: Percy and Annabeth are easy together. And that's exactly how it comes across. So cute. And it just speaks volumes about the year they've had that every time one leaves the other it's always with a promise to return. Percy totally gets Annabeth, even though he claims not to. In the first series, Percy relates his relationship with Annabeth to her desire to build something permanent (and is there anything cuter or more romantic than that? No!) and I think his promises to come back are part of his attempt to repair whatever damage was done by his suddenly being gone, not that Annabeth holds it against him at all. I also happen to love the glimpse into Piper and Annabeth's relationship that we got here. They didn't have a lot of time to bond in TLH (though Piper did say she could imagine being friends with Annabeth easily) so it's great that we get to see them acting like actual teenage best friends.


#7 - Bronze and Gold, Together

  "I'll take Otis again?" Jason called over the noise. "Or do you want him this time?"
  Percy tried to think. Dividing was the natural course--fighting the giants one-on-one, but that hadn't worked so well last time. It dawned on him that they needed a different strategy.
  This whole trip, Percy had felt responsible for leading and protecting his friends. He was sure Jason felt the same way. They'd worked in small groups, hoping that would be safe. They'd fought as individuals, each demigod doing what he or she did best. But Hera had made them a team of seven for a reason. The few times Percy and Jason had worked together--summoning the storm at Fort Sumter, helping the Argo II escape the Pillars of Hercules, even filling the nymphaeum--Percy had felt more confident, better able to figure out problems, as if he'd been a Cyclops his whole life and suddenly woke up with two eyes.
  "We attack together," he said. "Otis first, because he's weaker. Take him out quickly and move to Ephialtes. Bronze and gold together--maybe that'll keep them from re-forming a little longer."
  Jason smiled dryly, like he'd just found out he would die in an embarrassing way.
  "Why not?" he agreed. "But Ephialtes isn't going to stand there and wait while we kill his brother. Unless . . ."
  "Good wind today," Percy offered. "And there're some water pipes running under the arena."
  Jason understood immediately. He laughed, and Percy felt a spark of friendship. This guy thought the same way he did about a lot of things.
  "On three?" Jason said. 
  "Why wait?"
 They charged out of the trench.

Oh, I cannot tell you how long I waited for this moment. I wanted Percy and Jason to be friends more than anything, and it tore me up inside to see them competing with each other. I cringed when Jason implied that Percy would need an ocean to have a chance at measuring up to his own skill. I cringed again when Percy grumpily compared Jason to a blonde superman. Obviously it took a while for the two of them to get comfortable with working together, but once they did they were pretty much unstoppable. This moment, where they realized that they were not only stronger as a team, but also that they could actually be friends, was huge for me.


#6 - Don't EVER Mess With Leo Valdez

  Leo rested his hand on the Archimedes sphere, which now sat on the help, ready to be installed. He should have been excited. It was the biggest discovery of his life--even bigger than Bunker 9. If he could decipher Archimedes's scrolls, he could do amazing things. He hardly dared to hope, but he might even be able to build a new control disk for a certain dragon friend of his.
  Still, the price had been too high.
  He could almost hear Nemesis laughing. I told you we could do business, Leo Valdez.
  He had opened the fortune cookie. He'd gotten the access code for the sphere and saved Frank and Hazel. But the sacrifice had been Percy and Annabeth. Leo was sure of it.
  "It's my fault," he said miserably.
~
  "I'm the only one who has actually been into Tartarus," Nico said. "It's impossible to describe how powerful that place is. Once you get close, it sucks you in. I never stood a chance."
  Frank sniffled. "Then Percy and Annabeth don't stand a chance either?"
  Nico twisted his silver skull ring. "Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met. No offense to you guys, but it's true. If anybody can survive, he will, especially if he's got Annabeth at his side. They're going to find a way through Tartarus."
~
  Leo straightened. "We can do it."
  Everyone stared at him.
  "The Archimedes sphere can upgrade the ship," he said, hoping he was right. "I'm going to study those ancient scrolls we got. There's got to be all kinds of new weapons I can make. We're going to hit Gaea's armies with a whole new arsenal of hurt."
  They would find this House of Hades. They'd take the Doors of Death. And by the gods, if Leo had to design a grabber arm long enough to snatch Percy and Annabeth out of Tartarus, then that's what he would do.
  Nemesis wanted him to wreak vengeance on Gaea? Leo would be happy to oblige. He was going to make Gaea sorry she had ever messed with Leo Valdez.

That first part literally took my breath away. I admit it, I hadn't made the connection between Leo's deal with Nemesis and Percy and Annabeth's fall into Tartarus until it was spelled out for me, and what a poignant moment that was! And how awful for Leo to realize that in saving two of his friends, he'd doomed two others. But Leo doesn't take things like that lying down. He's proven over and over again that if you back him into a corner, he comes out kicking. Gaea should have learned that when she tried to break him by killing his mother and ended up merely giving him a reason to fight her. He's got something to prove now. And Nico's praise for Percy? Fabulous. They've always had a bit of a rocky relationship (especially recently in the series) so hearing Nico so blatantly labeling Percy as the most powerful demigod he's ever met, and in the presence of a son of Jupiter, too? I loved it.


#5 - The Epic Solo Death Quest

  Once Annabeth had made up her mind, arguing with her wouldn't do any good. He remembered the night three-and-a-half years ago, when they'd saved Nico and Bianca di Angelo in Maine. Annabeth had been captured by the Titan Atlas. For a while, Percy wasn't sure if she was alive or dead. He'd traveled across the country to save her from the Titan. It had been the hardest few days of his life--not just the monsters and the fighting, but the worry.
  How could he intentionally let her go now, knowing she was heading into something even more dangerous?
  Then it dawned on him: the way he had felt back then, for a few days, was probably how Annabeth had felt for the six months he had been missing with amnesia.
  That made him feel guilty, and a little bit selfish, to be standing here arguing with her. She had to go on this quest. The fate of the world might depend on it. But part of him wanted to say: Forget the world. He didn't want to be without her.
~
  "It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should--"
  "Take me along," Percy finished. "Yeah, you're right."
  Annabeth glared daggers at him. "That's not--"
  "Safe," he supplied. "One demigod walking through Rome alone. I'll go with you as far as the Tiber. We can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."
  They had a silent staring contest, but Percy didn't back down. When he and Annabeth started dating, his mother had drummed it into his head: It's good manners to walk your date to the door. If that was true, it had to be good manners to walk her to the start of her epic solo death quest.
  "Fine," Annabeth muttered.
~
  Percy gripped Annabeth's hand--probably a little too tight. "Tiberinus, let me go with her. Just a little farther."
  Rhea Silvia laughed sweetly. "But you can't, silly boy. You must return to your ship and gather your other friends. Confront the giants! Annabeth has a different path. She must walk alone."
  "Indeed," Tiberinus said. "Annabeth must face the guardian of the shrine by herself it is the only way."
  Percy's pizza felt like a cement lump in his stomach. "But--"
  "It's alright, Percy," Annabeth squeezed his hand. "I need to do this."
  He started to protest. Her expression stopped him. She was terrified but doing her best to hide it--for his sake. If he tried to argue, he would only make things harder for her. Or worse, he might convince her to stay. Then she would have to live with the knowledge that she'd backed down from the biggest challenge.
  "You're right," Percy said, forcing out the words. "Be safe."
  Annabeth kissed Percy. She hesitated, like she was wondering what else to say. Then she shouldered her backpack and climbed on the back of the scooter.
  Percy hated it. He would've preferred to fight any monster in the world. But he forced himself to stay in his chair and watch as Annabeth motored off through the streets of Rome with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

Letting Annabeth go and face Arachne, knowing how terrified she is of spiders, was probably Percy's greatest challenge yet. I love the dilemma here: Percy wanting to protect her and help her and yet knowing that he can't this time. Again he proves that he really does understand her by realizing that any protesting on his part would only hurt her in the long run. The whole book Annabeth and Percy have been promising to "come back" to each other and for the first time, that promise is really being put to the test. The emotional depth in this whole sequence of scenes is just delicious.


#4 - The Stables

  She leaned over and kissed him: a good, proper kiss without anyone watching--no Romans anywhere, no screaming satyr chaperons.
  She pulled away. "I missed you, Percy."
  Percy wanted to tell her the same thing, but it seemed too small a comment. While he had been on the Roman side, he'd kept himself alive almost solely by thinking of Annabeth. I missed you didn't really cover that.
  "Annabeth," he said hesitantly, "in New Rome, demigods can live their whole lives in peace. I saw so many demigods living without fear: kids going to college, couples getting married and raising families. There's nothing like that at Camp Half-Blood. I kept thinking about you and me . . . and maybe someday when this war with the giants is over . . ."
  It was hard to tell in the golden light, but he thought Annabeth was blushing. "Oh," she said.
  Percy was afraid he'd said too much. Maybe he'd scared her with his big dreams of the future. She was usually the one with the plans. Percy cursed himself silently. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just . . . I had to think of that to keep going. To give me hope. Forget I mentioned--"
  "No!" she said. "No, Percy. That's so sweet."
~
  "You've been here all night?"
  "Frank!" Annabeth's ears were as red as strawberries. "We just came down here to talk. We fell asleep. Accidentally. That's it."
  "Kissed a couple of times," Percy said.
  Annabeth glared at him. "Not helping!"
  "We'd better . . ." Frank pointed to the stable doors. "Uh, we're supposed to meet for breakfast. Would you explain what you did--I mean didn't do? I mean . . . I really don't want that faun--I mean satyr--to kill me."
  Frank ran.
  When everyone finally gathered in the mess hall, it wasn't quite as bad as Frank had feared. Jason and Piper were mostly relieved. Leo couldn't stop grinning and muttering, "Classic. Classic." Only Hazel seemed scandalized, maybe because she was from the 1940s. She kept fanning her face and wouldn't meet Percy's eyes.
~
  "Great," Percy said. "We should take one more. Annabeth--"
  "Oh, no!" Coach Hedge barked. "Young lady, you are grounded.
  Annabeth stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. "Excuse me?"
  "You and Jackson are not going anywhere together! Hedge insisted. He glared at Percy, daring him to mouth off. "I'll go with Frank and Mr. Sneaky Jackson. The rest of you guard the ship and make sure Annabeth doesn't break any more rules!"

I'm going to go out on a limb here and just say that no Percabeth shipper in the world could possibly not like these scenes. Percy's big dreams and Leo's grinning and Annabeth getting grounded by a satyr and Mr. Sneaky Jackson... I'm sorry. It's just too fabulous for words.


#3 - Charleston Harbor

  She needed help . . . some kind of distress signal to Coach Hedge, or even better--Percy.
  "Well?" Octavian demanded. His two friends brandished their swords.
  Very slowly, using only two fingers, Annabeth drew her dagger. Instead of dropping it, she tossed it as far as she could into the water.
  Octavian made a squeaking sound. "What was that for? I didn't say toss it! That could've been evidence. Or spoils of war!
  Annabeth tried for a dumb-blonde smile, like: Oh, silly me. Nobody who knew her would have been fooled. But Octavian seemed to buy it. He huffed in exasperation.
  "You other two . . ." He pointed his blade at Hazel and Piper. "Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus--"
  All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and fantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth's dagger.
  "You dropped this," he said, totally poker-faced.
  Annabeth threw her arms around him. "I love you!"
  Down in the water, Octavian yelled, "Get me out of here! I'll kill you!"
  "Tempting," Percy called down.
  "What?"
  "Nevermind."

Of all the scenes in this book, I had the most vivid mental image of this one right here. I could see everything happening as I read it, and I loved every minute of it. Oh, gosh, Octavian squeaking and Annabeth pretending to be airheaded for once and the harbor exploding and the Romans are wearing earplugs so they can't be hoodwinked by Piper and Percy's poker face and I love you. Too much goodness all rolled into one. Possibly the best little bit of storytelling I have read in ages.


#2 - The Reunion
  During their separation, something had happened to Annabeth's feelings. They'd grown painfully intense--like she'd been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. Now she wasn't sure which was more excruciating--living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.
  Annabeth didn't mean to, but she surged forward. Percy rushed toward her at the same time. The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there.
  Percy threw his arms around her. They kissed, and for a moment nothing else mattered. An asteroid could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and Annabeth wouldn't have cared.
  Percy smelled of ocean air. His lips were salty.
  Seaweed Brain, she thought giddily.
  Percy pulled away and studied her face. "I never thought--"
  Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted "Hold! Stand down!"
  Annabeth put her knee on Percy's chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. She didn't care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest--a tumor of worry and bitterness that she'd been carrying around since last autumn.
  "If you ever leave me again," she said, her eyes stinging, "I swear to all the gods--"
  Percy had the nerve to laugh. Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth.
  "Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you too."

She attacked him, and he laughed. She attacked him, and he laughed. So perfectly in character for the two of them. I don't think it would have worked if Percy hadn't laughed, though. Like I've said over and over again, he knows her. It's been six months that he's been missing and all she wants is something permanent, so of course she's going to have to get some pent up negative emotions out. It's just such an Annabeth thing to do that I don't think Percy could have expected anything else, and that's why all he can do is laugh in relief. She's still the Annabeth he remembers and loves. And what a dramatic contrast between this scene and the penultimate scene in the book, where Annabeth begs Percy to let her fall and save himself. Speaking of which...


#1 - Together

  Annabeth was dimly aware of the Argo II hovering to a stop about forty feet from the floor. It lowered a rope ladder, but Annabeth stood in a daze, staring into the darkness. Then suddenly Percy was next to her lacing his fingers through hers.
  He turned her gently away from the pit and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and broke down in tears.
  "It's okay," he said. "We're together."
  He didn't say you're okay or we're alive. After all they'd been through over the last year, he knew the most important thing was that they were together. She loved him for saying that.
~
  Annabeth's leg felt like it was pulling free of her body. Pain washed everything in red. The force of the Underworld tugged at her like dark gravity. She didn't have the strength to fight. She knew she was too far down to be saved.
  "Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."
  His face was white with effort. She could see in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless.
  "Never," he said. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"
  Nico's eyes widened. "But--"
  "Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"
  "I--I will."
  Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.
  Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.
  "We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."
  Only then did she understand what would happen. A one-way trip. A very hard fall.
  "As long as we're together," she said.
  She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw the sunlight far, far above--maybe the last sunlight she would ever see.
  Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.

My honest-to-goodness first thought when everyone climbed off the Argo II onto the crumbling marble floor was "What the heck are you idiots doing? Get Annabeth onto the ship!" Of course, a careful re-read brought it to my attention that although they lowered a ladder, Annabeth was too much in shock to climb up it. And I doubt Percy would have waited to see if she was coming. He knew she was hurt and terrified and alone and it was his only priority to get to her. The others must have simply followed his lead.

This is a masterpiece. I have no doubt that this was where Rick teared up while writing. All I can say is that the whole book was literally leading up to this moment. After everything Percy and Annabeth went through in the three books of this series, there was absolutely no way that he was letting her fall into Tartarus alone. It's heart-breaking. It's beautiful. Percy and Annabeth have taken over the top spot on my list of OTPs.

One can only hope that they'll be able to keep each other sane enough to find the way out. If nothing else, it's a comfort to know that Gaea's minions will certainly keep them alive if they're caught--until she's ready to rise, that is. Percy and Annabeth are her preferred sacrifices. That gives Jason and the crew a month to come up with a plan and rescue them, if that's what needs to be done.

Well, this was a long post of Percy Jackson goodness. The best part is that there are so many other parts that deserve mentioning! Mark of Athena is easily my favorite book of the series so far, but I am eagerly anticipating House of Hades or its follower to surpass it.