Sorry for making you all wait! Work completely drained me of all creativity for the last two months but I'm back for a Momo centric chapter and to celebrate my 3rd year writing anniversary!

Thank you to FlourChildWrites and AOwinterOA for the beta!

WARNING: There is a bit of self-harm in this chapter. Please be aware before continuing.

Huge thank you as always to everyone who took the time to comment, like seriously! You guys don't know how much your words of encouragement mean to me!

KeroKeroNayo – Thank you for always reading and taking the time to comment! Momo's fears will be revealed soon. ;)

Mihairu7 - AHHH! I tell you this every time but I seriously squeal in happiness every time I read your reviews! Thank you for always being so thoughtful and leaving such long and detailed comments. It really does make my day!

Oh no! The dreaded orbs verse eyes argument. I can't believe some people think using 'orbs' is acceptable.

EEE! I'm so glad you liked the stymphalian fight and the Big Three's entrance! I wish I could show them more, but alas, the story is focused on TodoMomo. Maybe I'll try to sneak them in one more time. I do really love Mirio's positivity.

Lol! I was in between who Tamaki should be the son of. One of the options I was debating was Hecate, goddess of magic, but decided Dionysius is more well known and since Tamaki's power is based on eating thought it was suitable.

Yay! I'm glad Tokoyami's desperation and brotherly love for Momo came across. This was his time to redeem himself for all the hardship he unconsciously put Momo through. Either in my own writing or things I read, I always like when side characters are fleshed out. I hate 2d characters so really wanted to show Tokoyami has thoughts and opinions of his own, and in his own way, is evolving...even if its slow.

Lol Overhaul was fun to write. I kind of went with the classic Greek god personality type with him, where he kind of is indifferent towards humans but is also totally ready to mess everything up just because of a perceived slight or inconvenience happened to him.

Nejitenfan – Thank you for reading!

Fencer29 – Haha I was in between making Tamaki the son of Dionisius or of some other god, maybe more on the magic side like Hecate, but decided to try and stay more with the well known gods so that the story is easier to follow/digest.

Lol! Yep. Kaminari is totally going to get his butt whipped when Todo finds him. He's not that forgiving. Haha.

Chapter 17: We will (not) Fear

Momo opened her eyes to the roar of a raging inferno. Suffocating heat surrounded her, stinging her nose and throat.

Coughing, she covered her mouth and stepped back. Smoke filled the air. Ash and cinders swirled around her like scarlet fireflies, flickering brightly.

Momo squinted through the fumes. The houses lining the street were ablaze. Crackling, bright red flames licked off of their wooden roofs, painting the moonless night sky a deep crimson.

Despite the searing heat, Momo felt a cold shiver pass through her.

Where was she?

She straightened and looked around, but the street was deserted. There were no signs of any of the inhabitants.

She was alone.

Her chest tightened. Momo swallowed thickly and wracked her mind, but she couldn't recall what had happened or how she had come to be there. It was as though she had drunk from the river Lethe and lost all her memories.

Behind her, there was a sudden groan. It began as a creek caught in the wind which crescendoed into a roaring cavalcade of wooden embers as the roof of the nearest building collapsed.

Momo shrunk back as searing heat and sparks sprayed out, stinging her skin. Her heart stuttered. She couldn't stay there. It wasn't safe. She needed to get away.

Turning, Momo fled down the street, hoping the path she followed would lead her to safety.

The thick cloud of smoke grew denser as fumes billowed out of the doors and windows of the houses around her. Her chest rattled as smoke tainted her lungs and stung her eyes.

There was something about the burning city that felt horribly familiar. Momo felt she should know why — but she couldn't remember that either. Every time she reached for the memory, it was as if haze shrouded her mind.

Unease curled in Momo's chest. She pushed herself harder, willing her legs to move faster in search of shelter from the suffocating heat. She needed to find a safe place to rest, collect her thoughts, and figure out what was happening.

Momo continued down the empty streets and back alleys. The city was eerily quiet; aside from the crackle of burning wood and flames, there were no voices of panic. No sounds of frightened animals or crying children. It was as if Momo was the last person in the city.

"Hello...Is anyone there?" Momo called out, her voice rough from the smoke.

There was no answer.

Anxiety crawled through Momo as though tiny spiders were scurrying across her skin. It was as though the citizens had simply vanished, whisked away by the gods, leaving Momo behind.

Alone.

Her heartbeat quickened. Why had she been left behind? Had she done something wrong?

She didn't want to be alone.

Momo stopped in the middle of the street. Biting her lip, she swallowed back a choked whimper and dropped her head. Covering her face, Momo squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the dark thoughts of worry seeping through her consciousness.

She needed to get control of herself. Now wasn't the time to be panicking.

Momo took a steadying breath. The sting of the smoke burned her lungs, lessening the anxiety coursing through her, somewhat.

If she calmed down and thought about the situation logically, nothing made sense. No god — even Zeus — was powerful enough to whisk an entire population away. Which meant that there must be a reasonable explanation as to why no one was around. And, even if everyone had decided to leave of their own will, she wouldn't have been left behind. Tokoyami wouldn't have left her behind...

Tokoyami!

Momo jerked her head up, throat tightening. Where was Tokoyami? What if he'd been hurt and needed –

Her thoughts broke off.

She was no longer standing in the middle of a deserted street.

The world had morphed.

A grand plaza lay before her. At the other end, a large limestone temple burned brightly. Even as flames danced off of the roof, the structure was impressive. Its scorched pillars, once white, stood as tall as eight grown men standing on top of one another's shoulders. At the top pediment, gods and heroes had been sculpted into great scenes of battle.

The hair on the back of Momo's neck stood on end as it dawned on her where she was. This was the temple of Apollo.

She was back in Troy.

Momo curled her hands into fists at her side. She must be going insane. How was it that she was back here? The city had been destroyed by the Greeks. Momo had seen it burned and plundered herself, so what was she doing back?

Her breath caught in her throat. Momo clamped a hand over her mouth as suddenly the memories spilled back through her mind like a ferocious wave.

Overhaul.

Phobias.

The God of Nightmares.

Momo swayed on her feet as realization struck her. This must be a dream. The God of Nightmares had cast some sort of magic to trap her and keep her docile so that she couldn't cause trouble as he lured Todoroki into battle.

Todoroki...

Momo swallowed thickly and dropped her hand to curl over her chest at the last memory she had of the Spartan. His startling heterochromatic gray and blue eyes had been wide and terrified, promising he'd come for her.

'This is all your fault.' A sickly sweet voice hissed.

Momo whipped around, raising her hand to strike.

But no one was behind her.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Momo dropped her hand and stepped back, scanning her surroundings.

The voice had been horribly familiar, like one of her sister priestesses who had subjected Momo to abuse back in Troy. But that couldn't be possible; everyone was either dead or captured. There was no way any of the priestesses could be here, in this dream.

Momo licked her lips, and she forced herself to straighten. The voice must be a side effect of Overhaul's power, something to distract and control her from interfering with his objective.

She drew in a steadying breath. In truth, even though Todoroki had promised to come for her, Momo knew it would be difficult for him. The large stymphalian who had attacked earlier were the Teppodama Hassaishu, the alphas of the stymphalian. And with the orphanage under attack and in need of assistance, they didn't have time to wait.

It was up to her to find a way out by herself.

'Conceited girl. What can someone like you do against a god?' A rough voice sneered behind her.

Momo's eyes widened, and she spun around.

But once again, there was no one there.

'It's because of you that everyone is in danger now. If you hadn't let your guard down...'

Her body trembled. Momo grit her teeth to stop herself from quivering. She couldn't let these voices affect her. They weren't real. What she needed to focus on was breaking Overhaul's spell.

All magic, even the kind that was cast by a god, had certain conditions. If she could figure out the God of Nightmare's weakness, she could escape.

Something moved near the entrance of the temple, drawing Momo's attention from her thoughts and back across the square. She squinted through the smoke. And her insides chilled.

In front of the building, four darkened figures had appeared from the smoke. It was too dark to see their faces, but Momo knew them: her mother and father's tall, delicate frames, Tokoyami's raven head, and Kyouka Jirou's cropped hair.

A sickening horror wrapped around her heart, squeezing until Momo could barely breathe. She knew what this illusion was now. This was her dream, the nightmare that had been haunting her since their arrival on the island.

Momo's heartbeat raced loudly in her ears as she stared dizzily across the plaza at all the people she had considered important in her life. She had known Overhaul's powers could draw from her memories, but this was too much.

Momo clenched her hands into fists until she could feel her nails sinking into the skin as Momo tried to control herself. This wasn't real. Her parents were dead, and Jirou had been taken away. This was only a nightmare. She needed to ignore this scene and figure out how to break Overhaul's spell. But she couldn't tear her gaze from the dark shadows.

As Momo starred transfixed, the figures moved. Momo's parents stepped forward towards the burning temple.

"No! Don't go!" Momo shouted. Unconsciously she moved forward, and her foot caught on something. She fell, her knees scraping against the stone road.

Momo looked down at what she had tripped over, and her eyes widened in panic. A disjointed hand lay underneath her sandal.

Momo drew in a sharp breath. She jerked back. But the hand was alive. It reached out, and its bony fingers caught Momo's chiton.

She screamed and kicked out.

The arm let go and dissolved back into the ground.

Momo scrambled to her feet. But there was nowhere to go; the plaza was suddenly filled with the dead. They had risen out of the shadows and lay sprawled in distorted poses; their faces were frozen in horror and pain as if they were victims of Medusa's curse.

For a moment, the corpses lay where they had appeared. Then their bodies twitched, and they lunged across the ground towards her.

Momo gasped in terror. She stumbled back. A decomposing corpse reached for her, and she kicked it away.

"I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming!"

Momo pushed another dead body away. Her heart was beating so hard; it felt as though it were being bruised inside her chest. This was all a distraction. She needed to wake up. There had to be a way to break Overhaul's spell.

Around her, the temperature dropped rapidly. Momo's body grew heavy as she fought to keep the dead from pulling at her, but it got harder and harder. There were too many. She couldn't keep going on like this; she needed help.

Momo's gaze darted up. Tokoyami and Jirou were standing in front of the temple, watching her struggle.

"Help! Please!"

She knew they weren't real, but still a part of her desperately hoped they would respond. But Tokoyami and Jirou didn't answer, only continued to watch dispassionately as the dead closed in on her.

Fright beat in Momo's chest. She was trapped. All alone.

'No one is going to come for you.' A voice like grinding stones hissed.

Momo looked down, and she choked. Her heart stalling as she met the lifeless eyes of the head priestess of Apollo's temple.

Unbidden, Momo's mind was suddenly filled with memories of her life in Troy — beatings, loneliness, and cruelty. This woman had allowed that, even encouraged it.

The priestess smiled menacingly. Its lifeless face twisted in glee as if it knew what Momo was remembering. 'Thinking yourself special? That you're better than everyone?' the corpse asked, condescension heavy in its sickly tone.

Its hand shot out. Momo tried to move away. But the shock of seeing the head priestess made her slow. The priestess laced its fingers around Momo's wrist.

Momo gasped. Its touch was ice cold. The priestess' fingers tightened around Momo's skin and pulled her forward. The world tipped, and suddenly a sharp pain ran up Momo's arm.

For a moment, the dead disappeared, and Momo could breathe. She was on a hard, cold surface. She shivered, blinking dizzily. Bright light broke through the darkness clinging to Momo's consciousness.

Through blurry vision, Momo could make out an endless white before she was swallowed back in intense blackness; hands of the dead clawed at her.

'Where are you going?' The stagnant breath of the head priestess brushed against her ear.

Momo's stomach dropped, and she choked as the cold breath ghosted against her ear. She twisted and shoved the dead away, stumbling backwards. Water splashed around her sandals. Momo's eyes widened in surprise. Her gaze shot down, and her insides twisted.

The plaza was filling up with dark murky liquid. It seemed to be seeping up from the ground at a rapid pace. If it filled up any more, Momo would find it difficult to keep fighting. She drew short, rapid breaths as she tried to keep the panic from overwhelming her.

This couldn't be the end. She had to keep fighting. Todoroki. Tokoyami. Someone would come for her! Right?

'Who'd come for a failed priestess like you? No one wants you. That's why you have no family or friends.'

Icy fingers slid through Momo's hair and yanked her backwards. Momo fell.

As she hit the lake, a wave of intense sorrow engulfed her, flooding into every corner of her mind. It reminded Momo of every painful action, every hurtful word from her past. She fought to stand, but the water and the dead were heavy. They weighed on her, pulling her down. The darkness urged her to give up, to cease fighting.

"No!"Momo broke free of the hands and scrambled to her feet. The dead clawed at her, trying to pull her back down.

The water had risen up to Momo's knees. In a few moments, it would be at her waist. She had to get out before then.

'What are you even trying to do? All you do is cause others problems. Even now, all you are doing is weighing Todoroki down and preventing him from defending the orphanage.'

"That's not true. It's not my fault," Momo denied, slapping a pair of withering hands away.

'How arrogant. Why do you think Asui sent you away?' — Momo's breath caught — 'She realized how useless you are. You couldn't even save those pirates from drinking the poison.'

Guilt struck Momo, twisting sharply in her stomach.

The voices laughed.

Momo's heart pounded. Her throat was tight as she forced out her next words. "It was an accident! Overhaul had the stymphalian poison the wine."

'Blaming others again?' the voice crooned with sing-song intonation. 'You're so conceited. Always denying that it's your fault. That's why no one likes you. That's why they all leave.'

"That's not true…" Momo gasped.

She tried to ignore the bodiless voices, tried to focus on how to break the spell, but she couldn't. Their words tore at her. And no matter how many times Momo told herself not to listen — that this wasn't real — part of her couldn't help but acknowledge that they were right.

She was a failure. She was arrogant to think anyone would ever want to stay with her. Everyone eventually left her. Her parents had abandoned her at the temple. Kyouka had promised to always be with her but had vanished.

'You should have run when I told you to,' Momo's breath froze in her lungs at the deep, familiar voice. 'You never listen, Yaoyorozu. You always think you're in the right. That's why I can't stand you. That's why I wanted to get rid of you. Now that I have Asui and Aizawa, I don't need you anymore.'

It felt like a knife had pierced Momo's chest. A strangled sob tore from her throat, and her knees buckled underneath her.

'Do you really think anyone cares about you enough to come for you? What about that Spartan you kept clinging to against my advice? Do you think he cares enough about his slave to save her?' Tokoyami asked angrily.

Momo gasped as Tokoyami's words echoed painfully in her chest. He was right. Oh, why hadn't she listened? No one wanted her. In the end, whether it was Tokoyami or Todoroki, everyone was the same. She was just a burden. Why was she even trying to resist?

She couldn't remember. She was so, so very tired.

'See – ' The voices whispered around her, 'You know it yourself. No one is coming for you. You're a bitch that has no friends.'

A chorus of women's voices started up, laughing and giggling in the darkness. 'Bitch has no friends. Bitch has no friends. Bitch has no friends.'

Momo felt her face grow wet as the voices grew louder. That's right. No one needed her. Momo would always be alone. Why even wish for a different life? She'd only be disappointed.

She closed her eyes. Momo's body grew heavy. Her chest felt hollow. All she wanted was to let go and sink into the darkness.

Momo lost her footing and fell onto her knees. The darkness lapped at her waist. The fingers of the dead turned to tender caresses as she stopped fighting, welcoming her into the inky depths of the lake.

No guilt or fear of failure could touch her now. There was only frigid numbness that beckoned, wanting to silence the struggle within her. She was so cold. So very cold.

Momo wrapped her arms around her stomach and -

A sharp pain pulsed across her hand; the world shifted.

The black lake Momo knelt in abruptly vanished, and she found herself laying on a frigid surface.

She gasped, shivering. And for a moment, it was as if all the horrible thoughts of despair and agony brought on by Overhaul's magic dissolved. Momo could breathe again. Then her vision fluctuated. The light around her elongated, and darkness began to spread across her gaze again.

Momo drew in a ragged, desperate breath, fighting to stay conscious. It felt as if she were struggling in an intense rip current. The waves of Overhaul's spell tugged at her, trying to pull her back into the deep depths of despair.

Momo choked back a sob. She couldn't give in. Not now. Not again. Momo didn't know if she'd be able to break the magic a second time.

She tightened her hands around her stomach, and the stinging pain from earlier cut back through the spell.

Momo inhaled a sharp breath as her head cleared. That was it. Whatever it was in her hand was the trigger to defeating the spell.

Gritting her teeth, Momo slowly angled her head. The boat had tipped over, and she was lying on ice. Around her, the ocean had become a frozen tundra, stretching out and disappearing into dense fog that sat low on the horizon. In the back of Momo's mind, she noted the peculiarity of ice in the middle of the ocean but didn't have time to analyze it.

Breathing through clenched teeth, Momo looked down and found that her right hand was bleeding. Red rivulets trailed down her wrist from her palm, staining the ice and her chiton crimson.

In her hand was the medical knife she had taken from Eri's bedside. It had lodged free from her chiton during her dream, and she had grabbed the sharp edge.

It was what had saved her.

'Save you from what? There's no escape.'

Momo's vision began to dim again. A fresh wave of sorrow and despair washed over her. She clenched her jaw as emotions — suffering and sadness — caught at her, trying to drag Momo back into the murky depths of Overhaul's spell.

No!

Momo pushed her hand harder against the sharp edge of the blade. A burning pain scorched her hand. Momo inhaled slowly through her nose.

Think. Think! There had to be a way to break Overhaul's spell without harming herself.

In front of her, there was a flickering of red and white ghosting in and out of the luminescent tundra, and Momo thought she heard the sound of swords clashing. She angled her head and gazed into the mist.

For a moment, she couldn't see anything. Then there was movement through the steam, and Momo could make out a black bird mask before it disappeared back into the fog.

Overhaul.

Momo trembled. He was fighting against someone, but it was too much for her mind to focus on who it was. All she knew was that she was running out of time. If she wanted to break his spell and not be a burden anymore, then defeating Overhaul was the surest way.

'What do you think someone like you can even do?' A voice whispered in her mind. 'A pathetic creature like you can't hope to defeat a god.'

Momo swallowed and clenched her eyes shut. She had to ignore the doubt and trust herself. It was Overhaul's power making her feel weak and pathetic. She was stronger than this.

Slowly, Momo opened her eyes and pulled herself onto her hands and knees, keeping the dagger in hand. Her left shoulder twinged painfully at the movement. She hissed through clenched teeth but forced herself to stand. The motion caused Momo's stomach to roil, and her vision turned splotchy.

'Yaoyorozu, do you really think you'll get away with attacking a god?' Tokoyami's voice warned dangerously low and urgent. 'There are always consequences. You'll be cursed to forever be alone.'

A metallic taste filled her mouth. The voice faded and Momo realized she had bitten the inside of her cheek as her vision came back into focus.

Momo swallowed slowly. She couldn't lose focus. She couldn't let Overhaul Momo lost, if she fell back into despair, she would lose everyone. She had to persevere and fight. There was no point in fearing abandonment if there was no one left.

For a few breaths, Momo focused on steadying herself. When she felt in control, she looked up into the mist. Overhaul danced within the fog; his lithe, shadowed figure blurred in and out of focus as he beat back someone else. At some points, it even appeared they were clashing in the sky.

Momo breathed slowly. The mist didn't appear to be her imagination. Neither figure had acknowledged her, which meant she may be as blurred to them as they were to her.

Her legs shook under her, but she forced herself forward. It was like swimming through mud. Every movement was exhausting. Ghosts and visions of her past flickered before her gaze, grabbing at her, trying to pull her back into darkness. At moments, Momo couldn't distinguish reality from Overhaul's magic. But Momo pushed herself forward regardless, hoping she was discreet enough for the figures fighting in the mist to not notice her.

'If you go that way, you'll be all alone, forever...is that what you want?' the head priestess' voice whispered.

Momo gulped. It felt like a stone had been lodged in her throat. Her hands trembled. Blood dripped down her palms, making the dagger slippery. She tightened her grip around the hilt and focused on the feel of the wood in her hands to tether herself to reality as a wave of suffocating loneliness washed over.

Momo stumbled. She ground her teeth, bracing herself. She had to do this. Even if she lost Tokoyami's friendship or Todoroki's favor, they needed to defeat Overhaul. She couldn't allow herself to be a burden anymore. She had to do whatever it took to win.

She breathed slow, shallow breaths trying to ignore the voices echoing around her as they persuaded her to turn back.

The figures were locked in battle in front of her. Overhaul's back to her.

Momo steadied her hands and pushed herself forward. The world spun, and for a moment, Momo was staring not at Overhaul but at Tokoyami.

His yellow eyes were wide, and his expression was pained. It twisted with a sense of betrayal. 'Yaoyorozu, are you really going to try and kill me?'

Momo's lips thinned into a harsh line as she concentrated, inching closer.

'You'll be all alone, Yaoyorozu. You hate being alone. You won't be able to handle it.'

Momo clenched her hands tighter around the hilt of the knife until her knuckles were white and met Tokoyami's yellow eyes. 'I'll be the one to decide that. Not you.'

Suddenly, the care and worry faded from Tokoyami's face, and his expression twisted in abject fury.

'Curse you, mortal.'

Momo gritted her teeth. "Then so be it. I won't let you decide my fate."

She raised her knife and lunged forward.

(Rubs hands together gleefully.)

Finally getting to the climax of this arc. I've been so excited to write this for a long time and finally being able to dig into Momo's fears and show her growing to overcome them is so exciting.

If you haven't noticed, Momo's greatest fear is to be alone and abandoned. Which surprise surprise is one of my fears too, except I have no trauma to explain it (we all have our issues, okay).

Anyways, because of her past of being bullied and left by everyone she's cared about, Momo has this deep seated fear of being abandoned. Even if rationally she knows the people she cared for didn't leave her of their own accord, a part of her can't let go of the feeling of abandonment. This was reinforced at the temple where she was ostracized for being different and bullied by the other priestesses to the point Momo unconsciously blamed herself for everyone leaving.

It's this deep fear that has been driving her for the past 17 chapters. It's what forced Momo to sell herself to her nation's enemy to save Tokoyami, influenced her to swim across monster infested waters pulling both Tokoyami and Todoroki to safety, and is what is ultimately driving a wedge between Momo and Tokoyami.

And the god of nightmares has no qualms using this fear against Momo for his own purposes. Overwhelming her with sorrow and feelings of abandonment until she is on the verge of losing all hope. It's then that Momo is saved. The knife she had grabbed came loose from her chiton when the boat was overturned and the bite of the blade allowed Momo to regain consciousness enough to get a hold of herself.

It's then Momo realizes she can't let herself be controlled by her fear anymore. If she wants to win, if she wants to defeat a god, she has to be okay with the consequences. And so Momo summons her courage and, even fighting against Overhaul's magic and the threat of being alone, Momo moves forward to attack.

Notes:

River Lethe - One of 5 rivers of the Underworld. If the dead drank from it they would forget all about their past lives.

Medusa - snake haired lady who turned people to stone.

The mist Overhaul and Shouto were fighting in - This is actually a real thing that happens in the arctic. It's called an Optical haze or shimmer.

Optical hazes can work like a fog or mist, blurring objects seen at a distance. Optical haze occurs in a layer of air next to the ground where warmer air flows up and colder air descends, creating wind patterns known as convective currents. The difference in how the warm and cold air refract light causes objects seen though the layer to blur. Optical haze occurs quite frequently in the Arctic, often making it difficult to identify details in the landscape.