Just as rapidly as if he had seen Nehelenia getting hurt, John turns to Steve just as quickly the moment he reveals the incident. In time, he gets to relax, listening to him as he understood more and more Neffy's emotions and loneliness that would drive her towards that mirror.
He is just as puzzled when Steve reveals he was immune to the mirror. With whatever that object did, there was something else in the child for him to be immune to the temptations and to the spectral nature of the object that drove his young friend to madness.
"That mirror should still be taken and destroyed," John spoke in a somber tone. An extreme measure to those that would know more of magic, perhaps. But Nehelenia was in danger because of it. And Steve was immune to it.
"It could turn worse with the transformations happening around us."
[Plushie James stared at Action Figure John, then, sweatdropping hugely/]
...Hey, wait, John, you can't just go around destroying Dream Mirrors like that, OK? Those things are essential parts of people's spirits, after all!
[But then, he paused, and looked up at the holo featuring Teenage Neffy again.]
- But on the other hand...
[He jumped up on the clunky computer, and started to adjust the settings. The holo image moved about, and settled on the Mirror right to Nehelenia's side - ]
[Steve gulped, then. So did most of the people in the room.]
...That's...There're something wrong there...
[And indeed, the Nehelenia in the Mirror was dressed the same way the real NeHelenia was, and she even had the same posture, but there was a snigger on her face, and her eyes were glowing red...]
- It's a Mirror Spirit of some kind, and a nasty one too, I bet.
The 'other hand' was that had John think of doing whatever was necessary to save Nehelenia. From behind Steve, and holding onto the zipper, he looked at the holo, around the mirror... there it was. His sight glowed with stronger colors, the presence of magic. He wouldn't destroy the mirror, for Nehelenia's sake, but the reflection...
... a difference in expression, and red eyes burning mockingly towards her.
"Do we have Mars for protection spells?"
He hadn't stocked himself with spells enough to exorcise, but it seemed they would find a way to stop that spirit soon enough.
...I'd rather have a Moon Healing kind of thing for something this, to be honest...
[Plushie James sighed - ]
[And that was when something different started to happen!]
[The red-eyed Nehelenia in the mirror in the holo screen turned around, looked directly at Steve and all the rest of the people - ]
[- And smiled, coldly.]
Ohhh, there you are, honey!
[And then, she turned around and faced the real Nehelenia, who had stopped laughing, though the tears were still falling down her face.]
Lady Neffy! Look, look - I, Zirconia, went and found your friend Stevie for you! Isn't that great, Lady Neffy?
[And then, the world seemed to turn inside out. Plushie James groaned, and shook his head.]
...Be careful, everybody! We've been transported someplace else!
[And that "somewhere else" was someplace familiar indeed, it seemed, judging from the big throne right in front of them.]
[Dr Erskine sighed, then.]
- And not only that...
[Uh, oh.]
[James quickly looked around, as Dr Erskine's body and Stevie's body both started to shine and change shape. Steve's mother was still with them too, and she was also still a Park Car Person, which probably was a good thing all things considered, James felt - Her Car body probably was less breakable then her human body, after all.]
[30 seconds later, Dr Erskine had turned into a doll of a doctor which in a white lab coat, while Stevie, strangely enough, had turned into a toy golem of some kind.]
[Toy Golem Stevie shook himself then, and stood up straight.]
...Huh. Not bad.
[His mother came running up to him, her front wheels clattering.]
...Stevie! Oh, Stevie...
- I'm OK, Mom. Nothing hurts, and I feel so strong...
[He gave his mother a pat, and then turned around, and got out from behind the big throne.]
- Of course she did, of course she did! She's so close, now - Once she eats your dreams, Little Steven, I'm sure she'll be able to take the next step!
[And then, she sneered - ]
...Because you're her friend. You are, right?
[And then, she cleared her throat, and began to sing, while most of the rest of the people there stared at her, boggled.]
Once you're a Dream Being, made of dreams and shiny magic, you'll never have to worry about losing your beauty no more~
[Teenage Nehelenia stopped crying, then.]
...You're sure about this, Zirconia? I'll never grow old and ugly?
[Zirconia laughed at that.]
- A 100 percent, my lady! Trust me - I'm your good friend Zirconia, after all!
Oh my lady, my lady, the wonders you will see - And don't worry about your old body, I'll take good care of it for sure~
[Toy Golem Stevie shook his head, then.]
...Darn, Miss Neffy - You're being conned. She's not anything like a real friend at all!
[Zirconia glared at him, then.]
- Oh, no? I've been with her for years and years, and I know her better then anybody else in existence! How could I not be a good friend?
[Stevie sniffed, then.]
...All you want is her power and magic. And what's this about taking good care of her "old body"? You're just trying to steal stuff from her, that's what!
The Master Chief steeled himself. His arms tensed in preparation to attack even as nothing would allow him to put a reasonable fight. That sense of helplessness turned greater as they were transported into the throne room.
Nehelenia's castle?
He turned to Steve. He immediately noticed the different handling of the backpack, the hold of the handles... Steve had been transformed into a toy as well. A strong one, but strength would not be as vital for this mission as improvisation.
My mind is not a nice place to be, John warned Zirconia the moment she threatened them.
"Nehelenia. She is trying to take you over," he spoke, "I've seen your future. She's isolated you from everyone else. She'll use you destroy everything."
...Booo! Everybody wants their friends to pay more attention to them then to other people, that's just normal, silly!
[Zirconia sneered - And then, all of a sudden, she jumped in front of John, and transformed into an likeness of an 12 year old version of him in a uniform with red eyes.]
You know what Dr Halsey did was wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, and all the wrongs in the world don't make up a right, even if you stupid Spartans did end up saving your worlds, but -
[And then, the look alike sneered.]
She is not your mother and she never will be your mother!
[And then, a second version of her jumped in front of Plushie James, and transformed into a 14 year old even tinier verion of James with red eyes.]
...Your dear twin, David. He knows, you know - He knows that you look at him, and half the time, you just see a package of spare parts that you could use if you're lucky enough!
It's a good thing brain transplants aren't a thing in your world yet, right? Because if that was possible - Ha ha ha, so much temptation!
[James winced, but then, he sighed.]
- Oh, he'll forgive me, I'm sure - He's forgiven me for worse things, after all.
[A third version jumped in front of Sarah, then, transforming into a somewhat younger version of her.]
Did you ever tell your son about the night you sat by his bedside as he suffered, wishing he'd just die and get it over with?
{Car Sarah looked shocked for a moment, but then, she simply smacked the lookalike with her front wheels.]
Go away and die, you nasty thing!
[Golem Steve stared at him mother for a moment, but then, he snickered.]
...Language, Ma!
- Oh, shut up, Stevie!
[And now, a 5th version of the mirror thing had transformed into a look alike of Dr Erskine.]
- There used to be a boy called Johan, who admired the hell out of you.
So what happened to him, eh?
[Dr Erskine winced, but then, he raised his hand.]
...I couldn't fix what was wrong with him, that was what.
- And yes, I do regret it, but it can't be helped either way, anyhow.
"That's not how a friendship works," the Master Chief glared at Zirconia.
The false child stared at him, almost as if facing a heckler. John had always thought about his first mother, and about Halsey, and saw them as one. While he understood the horrors of the SPARTAN-II Project and wished them not to have to be repeated, he also knew that he wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for that project. The taunting words came on deaf ears, as he focused only on Nehelenia.
Then, the child shifted, transformed, into a figure with steeled black MJOLNIR armor with a silver visor. Whereas John's armor had a golden one, proof of the fire that burned inside of John to protect everyone, there was nothing inside of that black armor.
"You would know about it... John," the figure noticed him tense. "She isolated you. Eight years. All you learned were three things: Help. Obey. Kill." Its visor moved up, "So much for protecting others as a mass murderer."
John stayed silent, sinking his feet into the pack.
"But the hundreds of non-humans that fought or begged you on their knees not to kill them didn't count. Did they?" Its voice was the same as John's laconic humor. "Neither did the ones you left alive. People you left even more broken than you."
[...Oh, he'd figured out that John's homeworld could be pretty hellish, depending, but...]
[And Toy Gollen Steve looked at Action Figure John, too.]
...Do I want to know what that thing is talking about, sir?
[And then, he sighed.]
- Probably not, I suppose...
[The Mirror Spirit stared at him, then, merging back into one shadowy figure.]
...Oh, hell. You're one of those people, aren't you, brat! Those "born to be heros"!
[The Toy Golem shrugged.]
- Born to be a hero? That doesn't sound like me at all, to be frank - I'm just a kid from Brooklyn, after all...
[And then, Stevie took two steps forward, and suddenly smashed at a old and half broken mirror learning against the wall!]
[The MIrror Spirt nearly glibbered, then!]
...W-W-What are you doing!? I - I don't even live in there anymore!
[Stevies snickered, then.]
- But you used to for a long time, right? That's the mirror that was in that holo thing, even though it looks all old and broken now that your magic isn't making it look bright and shiny.
[And then, his voice grew gloating.]
But now, you're out of the mirror, but you're not really strong enough to take over Miss Neffy's body when she's still in it, soo...
[James clapped his puppet hands, then.]
...Ohh, I get it!
[And then, he raced back to where John, Sarah and Dr Erskine was with a grin!]
- OK, everybody, listen up - I think we should now start breaking every mirror and reflective surface in the room!
There was too much from his world that was better if James, especially Steve, never heard about. While the lives he took to save humanity had been necessary, the truth that he had been so bred into it that he didn't even recall the faces or the voices of those he killed had become a secret only his closest friends knew.
He wasn't there to make things suffer. Although a deeper part of him knew he had done so for an untold amount of sapient lives.
The Master Chief refocused on the task. Born to be a hero? He turned his visor to Steve as he realized he was one of those heroes he knew thorough the multiverse, that in spite of their young ages, they were likewise chosen to protect their worlds. And the moment that spirit panicked, John's sight lit up as he looked at the reflective surfaces.
"On it."
With the pencil he had stolen earlier, he leaped out of the backpack by propelling itself from it, then landed fist-first onto a glass he cracked, before turning his sight to the nearest reflections around him that held a hint of a glow of Zirconia being able to access them, running forward to break them with brutal force a small figure wouldn't be expected to have...
"Take the other mirrors. Break her paths and isolate her if possible."
...Are you people nuts!? It's not like I'm one of those Big Cheese spirits with tons of power I have to carry around, OK!? You're acting like -
[And then, she turned toward Teenage Nehelenia with a groan, and turned shape again, going back to looking like Nehelenia herself.]
- Lady Nehelenia! If you're just use your mighty magical powers to get rid of those - those pesky intruders, your servant Zirconia would appreciate it very much, please...
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia with a blank look on her face, then.]
...But Zir? I - I don't have enough power yet...
[Aand Zirconia groaned as James started to throw some of Nehelenia's face powder on the shining walls!]
- Oh, who cares, just let me take over your body you damn idiot!
[Teenage Nehelenia stared at her, then, and blinked as tears started to run down her face again.]
...But Zir...I thought...I thought you cared about me!
[Zirconia stamped her foot, then, looking remarkably like Nehelenia herself for a moment.]
- Care about you, Lady Nehelenia? Me? How the hell am I supposed to do that - More then 90 percent of my current personality is just copied over from yours, and you don't really love yourself worth a damn!
For his small size, the small figure of the Master Chief moved like lightning and used the metal over his body for more momentum and force to break every mirror that looked the slightest use for a supernatural force, finding the tools to break them, but the moment Zirconia tried to sweet-talk Nehelenia, John stopped for a moment.
Ironic, how Zirconia stated Nehelenia needed to love herself. This was the window he just opened up.
"It means loving yourself, even with your flaws," John spoke, "there are people in this world that care about you."
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at John, then, tears leaking out of her eyes.]
...But...But even Zirconia doesn't love me, and she's practically my shadow!
[And then, she looked at the image of John's recollections, floating in the air like a holo.]
- But - Why does that child look so much like me?
[Zirconia huffed, then.]
- Lady Nehelenia - Would you please use your brain for a change? She looks like you because she's another version of you, obviously - This is Infinity, after all!
[And then, Zirconia took another look at the young looking Nehelenia in John's memories, and sighed.]
...So that's how she would have looked like if she needed me no more, huh?
[And then, Zirconia took a deep breath, and turned toward Teenage Nehelenia, her eyes blazing red.]
- Lady Nehelenia - Please decide now. Do you still need me around or not?
[Nehelenia stared at the Spirit, a pole-axed expression on her face.]
...Because if you don't let me take over your body right now - I'm leaving. Pronto.
[Toy Golem Steve made a pained noise, then.]
...You don't need her, Miss Neffy, and you never really did!
[Zirconia gave him a glare, and turned toward Nehelenia again.]
- You can talk and talk to your mirrors as much as you like, but I wouldn't be there anymore, Lady Nehelenia. And what would you do, when all the people who prased you to your face start saying bad things about you behind your back again?
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia, then, a look of horror on her face.]
As the last mirror laid in shatters, John spoke forward. There would be only the barest flashes of his life: His separation from his Spartans, his goodbye from Cortana, but also spending time with Ami in front of a lake, and seeing Yuuko for the first time.
"That's the thing about Infinity. There's a lot of possibilities," John spoke, "you aren't bound to loneliness like many of us were before this place. Not anymore."
That was the difference between who he was, and of the many other Master Chiefs in other universes who lost Cortana, and instead of allowing himself to heal and understand that she would persist in memory and through loved ones, fought without reprieve or concern, destroying themselves, too terrified to face their own emotions.
John had learned. This world had saved him from that fate.
"The girl I knew didn't need her in the end," he muttered, "and neither will you."
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia again, then. Zirconia stared at her for a good long while, and then threw up her hands.]
...Oh, what the heck - You're supposed to be the Queen, and you can't even tell me to be gone?
[And then, her eyes went sad for a moment.]
- Oh, well, we had a good run I suppose. Having enouogh intelligence to think for myself was sort of nice, I must admit.
[And then, Zirconia's red eyes went cold indeed.]
...Goodbye, Nehe, and I wish you well - At least until me or my podlings or my podlings's podlings find some way to actually eat all those dreams and energies you're wasting like a idiot, that is!
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at her, then, and pulled herself up.]
- That will never happen, you weak puny Mirror Spirit!
[Zirconia sniggered, then.]
...Oh, yeah? We'll see about that - See you later, Nehe dear!
[And then, she ran, and ran - And disappeared, right through her own reflection mirrored in Teenage Nehelenia's left eye!]
[Plushie James groaned, then.]
- So she can do that, too? Cripes!
[Toy Golem Steve, in the meanwhile, had ran up to Teenage Nehelenia, and caught her as she crumpled into a heap.]
- I'm...not sure how much I'm gonna last, though, sorry...
[Car Sarah nearly shrieked in horror, then, as she saw her son fall apart into what seemed to be around a 100 pieces! Lego Winter groaned, and quickly ran over to Steve, trying to figure out what had happened.]
[James, in the meanwhile, had pulled a unconsious Teenage Nehelenia onto a nearby sofa, and went to check what had happened to Steve. There was a big piece of cloudy crystal, and a well used folding knife around all the other pieces of the toy golem body. And hmmm - What was this, a hand mirror? Why did the thing look so bent, anyway?]
[And then, he stared as he picked up two other pieces of paper out of the mess.]
We need you to be our Hero! - The US and the Free World!
[James stared at the picture of Uncle Sam on the paper for a moment, and then went on to look at the other paper.]
We need you to be our Hero much more then those other people do! - HYDRA and associates!
[James had never seen such a cute version of the HYDRA logo, he did have to admit. The skull with tentacles actually had a smiling face, just for one thing...
He was left staring at where Zirconia used to be, fist clenching, but knowing that she would be one of those threats that would have to be dealt with ingenuity and teamwork, rather than violence as he had been used to for long. This Nehelenia had been pushed away from a potential fate as Zirconia's slave.
There was a moment to breathe as Steve held her. But he realized Steve glowed like a sun for a moment, before he himself collapsed into pieces. He bolted forward as an instinct to protect.
And yet, the pieces continued to glow, realizing he was still alive.
The Master Chief looked at each separate piece, realizing the energy in each one of them, sapient thoughts different from one another, the strongest point being around the crystal which resembled the senshi's own soul gems which stored and saved their consciousnesses and powers.
He took a look at the mirror... and the odd pieces of paper. He lifted one of them, realizing too quickly that this was going to be another human organization he'd have as much guilt in destroying as the maniacs of Sapien Sunrise.
- HYDRA is sort of the Department Store of Evil, in Steve's part of the Multiverse I think.
They'll trade with everybody as long as it helps them get more power and influence to take over the world.
They also aren't one organization at all, there're more like a gaggle of loosely related cult like organizations which work together when neccesary. Their main creed is some kind of fascist something with HYDRA being fated to take over the world, I think, but on the other hand, it's basiclly a collections of cults, so.
[And then, he blinked as he saw a brightly shining nightlight in pieces of Toy Golem Steve.]
...Hey, I think I found his Starseed! It's still bright and pretty even when it's out of his body, ha ha...
[And then, he looked at the chunk of crystal and the knife and the bent handmirror.]
- And this is his Heart Crystal, and that's his Dream Mirror, and the knife is the same thing as the Heart Sword from Utena and Anthy's world, I think - So the Sword of Willpower, maybe? Or passion.
[There was a groan, then, as Teenage Nehelenia woke up behind them.]
....He's...probably broken because...the opposing Wishes were pulling him in different directions, I think, and...
"Enemies," the Master Chief concluded. Hydra would come to be another coalition he would most likely fight against in the future.
He turned to the star seed as James lifted it up, as well as the pieces that conformed him, but something told him immediately it wouldn't be that easy. Fascism in his world had technically ended with the Rainforest Wars in his world, but he remembered from human history that it often rose and vanished in waves.
Steve, by that logic, should have been from an Earth during World War II, where fascism had failed -- temporarily.
His own wishes, John asked himself, or their own?
A wish needed an equivalent cost in exchange, Yuuko had always told him, and either on benign or faustian ones, they always followed that rule. If both sides had taken Steve, then it was something much more sinister than a reality wave.
Hydra. John decided to start recording everything regarding the organization, and how to destroy it.
In either case, "we rebuild Steve with the traits he follows the most," he looks at the Heart Crystal, remembering the times he ventures into James' and his first Nehelenia's mind to face their demons, "and purge everything Hydra has done to him."
[Plushie James, in the meanwhile, was looking at Doctor Doll Erskine, who'd made a very strange expression indeed, the moment James and John had mentioned HYDRA.]
[Dr Erskine went over to the pieces of Toy Golem Steven, and looked at the papers James had just looked at, his eyebrows raised.]
...Oh, for the love of -
[And then, he turned toward Car Sarah for some reason. Sarah was patting some of the Toy Golem pieces with her front wheels, looking very sad indeed.]
[...Hmmmmmm.]
[James went toward Dr Erskine, and whispered - ]
...So you know HYDRA, right?
[Dr Erskine sighed, then, and looked at Sarah again.]
- Sadly enough, yes. And, um, I...
...She reminds you of somebody you knew was connected to HYDRA. And so does Stevie.
[Dr Erskine shook his head with a sigh, then.]
- I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but, yes. It's the eyes, I think - Stevie looks much more like Johann's father then Johann himself ever did. Johann took after his mother, looks-wise.
[Huh, really? - No, wait...]
...The Johann Schmidt you knew wasn't blond and blue-eyed?
[Dr Erskine looked at him, quizzically.]
Black hair and sharp brown eyes, and a nose that stood out - He didn't look like his father at all actually. Why? Did you know Hermann?
[James thought about that, and then went up to John.]
...John. I think we have a problem here - Have you ever heard of the Red Skull?
The Master Chief immediately noticed the uncertainty behind Dr. Erskine. Johann... suddenly things began to connect together, as did the relationship with the organization.
"Their leader, I assume."
He walked off the broken mirror, moving towards the center, touching his helmet to see if he could still talk to Yuuko.
We are sorry for the disruptions in our normal service...
[Plushie James, in the meanwhile, sighed.]
...It depends on which version of the story you're going by, but the original Johann Schmidt was blond and blue eyed before the Super Soldier Serum turned him into, well, something like this.
[James tapped at his Phone, making a holo of the Red Skull float up.]
- And there's this backstory about his mother dying in childbirth when he was born and his father trying to kill him and being brought up in a orphanage, and also running away from the ophanage when he was 7 years old, and OK, I also think there was something about killing a girl who was nice to him but turned him down? The timeline doesn't really make sense, to be honest. And then, Johann meets Adolf Hitler when he was a teenager working as a hotel busboy and Hitler takes him on as a apprentice of sorts because he had an evil aura or something. Or so the original tale goes - HYDRA doesn't even appear in the story at this point.
[James looked at Sarah and Dr Erskine, and decided to skip around the fact that the story of Captain America was clearly fictional in his world. Oh, well, he was pretty sure they probably knew other worlds had fictional stories about them, but whatever.]
- So basically, the original is a Nazi supersoldier, and HYDRA isn't even a blimp in the rader.
[Dr Erskine sighed, then.]
...I don't think you're talking about the Johann Schimidt I knew at all, to be honest - Johann once broke a radio because he didn't want to listen to Hitler's speeches anymore.
[And then, he looked at the holo of the Red Skull, his hand to his chin.]
- But wait, that really looks a lot like something out of those old HYDRA pictograms, doesn't it? Hmmm...
[And then, he poked at his own Phone.]
...This is the Johann I knew, by the way.
[Everybody stared at the holo of a black haired man with a cold smile on his face.]
- Huh. He looks like a really nasty version of an older Teddy Santos or something, strangely enough.
[James looked at her.]
...Could this Teddy person be a relative of yours, by any chance?
[Sarah sighed at that.]
- Teddy Santos - His family owns Santos's Pizzeria, yes. We're not very closely related, but...
[Ohhhhh!]
[James looked at the pieces of Toy Golem Steve, and sighed.]
[He then went up to John, and whispered - ]
...I have no idea how the reality tampering actually was supposed to work, but for now, the original blond and blue eyed Johann is nowhere to be seen, and the Stevie we know is apparently related to the Red Skull's family in some fashion.
[And then, he paused.]
- It's like somebody or something tried to take Steve Grant Rogers and stick pieces of the original Johann Schidmit on top of him. Weird, eh?
Yuuko was out of contact. Without her to aid Steve, John shook his head in frustration. He tenses as James tells the story, coming to worry that the same events may be happening again, transforming Steve into something worse. Until James notes that Hydra is not present. John turns to Dr. Erskine as a different Johann is talked about.
"A different upbringing," John concludes. Even Dr. Halsey had to mold him into something better, using what he already was to make him what he was meant to be.
The same was also possible. That someone capable of doing great harm being driven away from that same path that Hydra could represent.
He turns to his mother. With all the changes, it would be now his mother's task to protect him from that organization, and allows him to stay as the hero he was meant to be.
"We'll build him back together. And return to our mission."
Then, piece by piece, beginning by the most important ones that represented Steve's morality, compassion for his fellow man, drive for justice, and courage, he gathered him back together.
...A different upbringing? What different upbring?
[Plushie James groaned.]
We haven't even figured out if Stevie is actually the original Steven Grant Rogers at the core or not! I mean, what if he's actually the original Johann Schmidt in a Steve Grant Rogers wrapper or something?
[And then, he looked at the parts of Toy Golem Stevie again, and shook his head.]
- Now, I don't really think so - Stevie's a really good kid, after all. And since he is "born to be a hero", according to that Mirror Thing...
[That was when Teenage Nehelenia groaned, and got up the sofa. The tottered up to Action Figure John, and sighed.]
...Oh, come on, stop that, please.
[She carefully poked around in the pieces, and took a good look at the nightlight thing.]
- Very well- This Starseed apparently is powering a person called "Steven Grant Rogers", so this is the original Steven at core, I think.
[And then, she took a good look at the chunk of crystal.]
...This is his Heart Crystal, and golden thing stuck inside it is the so called Heart of Gold. The blackened bits are normal, don't worry, everybody has them...
[She poked at the bent handmirror, then.]
- This Dream Mirror is damanged, mostly because of other people's Wishes. Two different reality tampering pulling one in different directions would do that to you. A pity - He would have had such clear and beautiful dreams, I think...
[And then she looked at the knife, and her eyes narrowed.]
...This thing, on the other hand, is the Sword of Passion, or Willpower, or Aggression, depending on who you're asking, but...
[She pointed at the hilt. James eyes widened as he realized that there was a faint hint of initials on it - a crossed out J.S. and a SGR.]
- Let's see - Hmmm...
[James took the handknife, and took it apart. It seemed to be just a ordinary handknife, except there was a place inside to hilt which looked like it had born a symbol mark, once upon a time.]
...OK...So what would happen if I rubbed the J.S. out over here, and added some kind of nice symbol to the symbol mark over here?
[Teen Nehelenia shrugged at that, her eyes a bit blank.]
- You can try rubbing out Johann Schmidt's initials, but you wouldn't be able to rub them out all the way, I think?
[And then, she gave them a sad smile.]
...But on the other hand, putting in a nice symbol is probably a good idea. What should it be, I wonder?
After his time in the multiverse, he began to ponder if some people were destined for glory with the various elements that allowed their heroism to flourish. For a second category, they had to become heroes to survive. For the third, it was just as likely that they'd fall from grace, for one reason or another.
As Nehelenia talked, John listened. He moved around to gather Steve's heart, glowing bright in his eyes, with smaller shades and tendrils of darkness than he was forced to absorb in over twenty years of war. He then turned to the mirror, this time holding it delicately in comparison to the many natural mirrors he shattered, gathering them all close with the small stature he had. He looked then at the knife, seeing another glow. And finally, glowing with even more power in his eyes, the initials that laid over Steve.
John remained deep in thought as the others talked, pondering about the sign that could represent him, something that could symbolize the ideals a person like Steve ought to serve, something that represented a better future instead of the distorted ideals of the flawed movements, something that would allow Steve's heart to shine like the star...
A star...
He stood up, grabbed a pencil, and walked towards the initials. With the precision he had once painted the japanese kanji for luck, he drew the symbol of a five-pointed star.
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The Christmas Toy Continuation
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He is just as puzzled when Steve reveals he was immune to the mirror. With whatever that object did, there was something else in the child for him to be immune to the temptations and to the spectral nature of the object that drove his young friend to madness.
"That mirror should still be taken and destroyed," John spoke in a somber tone. An extreme measure to those that would know more of magic, perhaps. But Nehelenia was in danger because of it. And Steve was immune to it.
"It could turn worse with the transformations happening around us."
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...Hey, wait, John, you can't just go around destroying Dream Mirrors like that, OK? Those things are essential parts of people's spirits, after all!
[But then, he paused, and looked up at the holo featuring Teenage Neffy again.]
- But on the other hand...
[He jumped up on the clunky computer, and started to adjust the settings. The holo image moved about, and settled on the Mirror right to Nehelenia's side - ]
[Steve gulped, then. So did most of the people in the room.]
...That's...There're something wrong there...
[And indeed, the Nehelenia in the Mirror was dressed the same way the real NeHelenia was, and she even had the same posture, but there was a snigger on her face, and her eyes were glowing red...]
- It's a Mirror Spirit of some kind, and a nasty one too, I bet.
[James said eventually, with a sigh.]
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... a difference in expression, and red eyes burning mockingly towards her.
"Do we have Mars for protection spells?"
He hadn't stocked himself with spells enough to exorcise, but it seemed they would find a way to stop that spirit soon enough.
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[Plushie James sighed - ]
[And that was when something different started to happen!]
[The red-eyed Nehelenia in the mirror in the holo screen turned around, looked directly at Steve and all the rest of the people - ]
[- And smiled, coldly.]
Ohhh, there you are, honey!
[And then, she turned around and faced the real Nehelenia, who had stopped laughing, though the tears were still falling down her face.]
Lady Neffy! Look, look - I, Zirconia, went and found your friend Stevie for you! Isn't that great, Lady Neffy?
[And then, the world seemed to turn inside out. Plushie James groaned, and shook his head.]
...Be careful, everybody! We've been transported someplace else!
[And that "somewhere else" was someplace familiar indeed, it seemed, judging from the big throne right in front of them.]
[Dr Erskine sighed, then.]
- And not only that...
[Uh, oh.]
[James quickly looked around, as Dr Erskine's body and Stevie's body both started to shine and change shape. Steve's mother was still with them too, and she was also still a Park Car Person, which probably was a good thing all things considered, James felt - Her Car body probably was less breakable then her human body, after all.]
[30 seconds later, Dr Erskine had turned into a doll of a doctor which in a white lab coat, while Stevie, strangely enough, had turned into a toy golem of some kind.]
[Toy Golem Stevie shook himself then, and stood up straight.]
...Huh. Not bad.
[His mother came running up to him, her front wheels clattering.]
...Stevie! Oh, Stevie...
- I'm OK, Mom. Nothing hurts, and I feel so strong...
[He gave his mother a pat, and then turned around, and got out from behind the big throne.]
...Hi, Neffy. So you wanted to see me, eh?
[The red-eyed Nehelenia look-alike giggled, then.]
- Of course she did, of course she did! She's so close, now - Once she eats your dreams, Little Steven, I'm sure she'll be able to take the next step!
[And then, she sneered - ]
...Because you're her friend. You are, right?
[And then, she cleared her throat, and began to sing, while most of the rest of the people there stared at her, boggled.]
Once you're a Dream Being, made of dreams and shiny magic, you'll never have to worry about losing your beauty no more~
[Teenage Nehelenia stopped crying, then.]
...You're sure about this, Zirconia? I'll never grow old and ugly?
[Zirconia laughed at that.]
- A 100 percent, my lady! Trust me - I'm your good friend Zirconia, after all!
Oh my lady, my lady, the wonders you will see - And don't worry about your old body, I'll take good care of it for sure~
[Toy Golem Stevie shook his head, then.]
...Darn, Miss Neffy - You're being conned. She's not anything like a real friend at all!
[Zirconia glared at him, then.]
- Oh, no? I've been with her for years and years, and I know her better then anybody else in existence! How could I not be a good friend?
[Stevie sniffed, then.]
...All you want is her power and magic. And what's this about taking good care of her "old body"? You're just trying to steal stuff from her, that's what!
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Nehelenia's castle?
He turned to Steve. He immediately noticed the different handling of the backpack, the hold of the handles... Steve had been transformed into a toy as well. A strong one, but strength would not be as vital for this mission as improvisation.
My mind is not a nice place to be, John warned Zirconia the moment she threatened them.
"Nehelenia. She is trying to take you over," he spoke, "I've seen your future. She's isolated you from everyone else. She'll use you destroy everything."
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[Zirconia sneered - And then, all of a sudden, she jumped in front of John, and transformed into an likeness of an 12 year old version of him in a uniform with red eyes.]
You know what Dr Halsey did was wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, and all the wrongs in the world don't make up a right, even if you stupid Spartans did end up saving your worlds, but -
[And then, the look alike sneered.]
She is not your mother and she never will be your mother!
[And then, a second version of her jumped in front of Plushie James, and transformed into a 14 year old even tinier verion of James with red eyes.]
...Your dear twin, David. He knows, you know - He knows that you look at him, and half the time, you just see a package of spare parts that you could use if you're lucky enough!
It's a good thing brain transplants aren't a thing in your world yet, right? Because if that was possible - Ha ha ha, so much temptation!
[James winced, but then, he sighed.]
- Oh, he'll forgive me, I'm sure - He's forgiven me for worse things, after all.
[A third version jumped in front of Sarah, then, transforming into a somewhat younger version of her.]
Did you ever tell your son about the night you sat by his bedside as he suffered, wishing he'd just die and get it over with?
{Car Sarah looked shocked for a moment, but then, she simply smacked the lookalike with her front wheels.]
Go away and die, you nasty thing!
[Golem Steve stared at him mother for a moment, but then, he snickered.]
...Language, Ma!
- Oh, shut up, Stevie!
[And now, a 5th version of the mirror thing had transformed into a look alike of Dr Erskine.]
- There used to be a boy called Johan, who admired the hell out of you.
So what happened to him, eh?
[Dr Erskine winced, but then, he raised his hand.]
...I couldn't fix what was wrong with him, that was what.
- And yes, I do regret it, but it can't be helped either way, anyhow.
...So begone, you!
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The false child stared at him, almost as if facing a heckler. John had always thought about his first mother, and about Halsey, and saw them as one. While he understood the horrors of the SPARTAN-II Project and wished them not to have to be repeated, he also knew that he wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for that project. The taunting words came on deaf ears, as he focused only on Nehelenia.
Then, the child shifted, transformed, into a figure with steeled black MJOLNIR armor with a silver visor. Whereas John's armor had a golden one, proof of the fire that burned inside of John to protect everyone, there was nothing inside of that black armor.
"You would know about it... John," the figure noticed him tense. "She isolated you. Eight years. All you learned were three things: Help. Obey. Kill." Its visor moved up, "So much for protecting others as a mass murderer."
John stayed silent, sinking his feet into the pack.
"But the hundreds of non-humans that fought or begged you on their knees not to kill them didn't count. Did they?" Its voice was the same as John's laconic humor. "Neither did the ones you left alive. People you left even more broken than you."
"Steve," John spoke, "we have to continue."
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[...Oh, he'd figured out that John's homeworld could be pretty hellish, depending, but...]
[And Toy Gollen Steve looked at Action Figure John, too.]
...Do I want to know what that thing is talking about, sir?
[And then, he sighed.]
- Probably not, I suppose...
[The Mirror Spirit stared at him, then, merging back into one shadowy figure.]
...Oh, hell. You're one of those people, aren't you, brat! Those "born to be heros"!
[The Toy Golem shrugged.]
- Born to be a hero? That doesn't sound like me at all, to be frank - I'm just a kid from Brooklyn, after all...
[And then, Stevie took two steps forward, and suddenly smashed at a old and half broken mirror learning against the wall!]
[The MIrror Spirt nearly glibbered, then!]
...W-W-What are you doing!? I - I don't even live in there anymore!
[Stevies snickered, then.]
- But you used to for a long time, right? That's the mirror that was in that holo thing, even though it looks all old and broken now that your magic isn't making it look bright and shiny.
[And then, his voice grew gloating.]
But now, you're out of the mirror, but you're not really strong enough to take over Miss Neffy's body when she's still in it, soo...
[James clapped his puppet hands, then.]
...Ohh, I get it!
[And then, he raced back to where John, Sarah and Dr Erskine was with a grin!]
- OK, everybody, listen up - I think we should now start breaking every mirror and reflective surface in the room!
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He wasn't there to make things suffer. Although a deeper part of him knew he had done so for an untold amount of sapient lives.
The Master Chief refocused on the task. Born to be a hero? He turned his visor to Steve as he realized he was one of those heroes he knew thorough the multiverse, that in spite of their young ages, they were likewise chosen to protect their worlds. And the moment that spirit panicked, John's sight lit up as he looked at the reflective surfaces.
"On it."
With the pencil he had stolen earlier, he leaped out of the backpack by propelling itself from it, then landed fist-first onto a glass he cracked, before turning his sight to the nearest reflections around him that held a hint of a glow of Zirconia being able to access them, running forward to break them with brutal force a small figure wouldn't be expected to have...
"Take the other mirrors. Break her paths and isolate her if possible."
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...Are you people nuts!? It's not like I'm one of those Big Cheese spirits with tons of power I have to carry around, OK!? You're acting like -
[And then, she turned toward Teenage Nehelenia with a groan, and turned shape again, going back to looking like Nehelenia herself.]
- Lady Nehelenia! If you're just use your mighty magical powers to get rid of those - those pesky intruders, your servant Zirconia would appreciate it very much, please...
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia with a blank look on her face, then.]
...But Zir? I - I don't have enough power yet...
[Aand Zirconia groaned as James started to throw some of Nehelenia's face powder on the shining walls!]
- Oh, who cares, just let me take over your body you damn idiot!
[Teenage Nehelenia stared at her, then, and blinked as tears started to run down her face again.]
...But Zir...I thought...I thought you cared about me!
[Zirconia stamped her foot, then, looking remarkably like Nehelenia herself for a moment.]
- Care about you, Lady Nehelenia? Me? How the hell am I supposed to do that - More then 90 percent of my current personality is just copied over from yours, and you don't really love yourself worth a damn!
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Ironic, how Zirconia stated Nehelenia needed to love herself. This was the window he just opened up.
"It means loving yourself, even with your flaws," John spoke, "there are people in this world that care about you."
As John spoke to her, he gave Nehelenia the mental image of his own past in Infinity, a visage of a small girl and a massive soldier looking at a mirror together in grief.
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...But...But even Zirconia doesn't love me, and she's practically my shadow!
[And then, she looked at the image of John's recollections, floating in the air like a holo.]
- But - Why does that child look so much like me?
[Zirconia huffed, then.]
- Lady Nehelenia - Would you please use your brain for a change? She looks like you because she's another version of you, obviously - This is Infinity, after all!
[And then, Zirconia took another look at the young looking Nehelenia in John's memories, and sighed.]
...So that's how she would have looked like if she needed me no more, huh?
[And then, Zirconia took a deep breath, and turned toward Teenage Nehelenia, her eyes blazing red.]
- Lady Nehelenia - Please decide now. Do you still need me around or not?
[Nehelenia stared at the Spirit, a pole-axed expression on her face.]
...Because if you don't let me take over your body right now - I'm leaving. Pronto.
[Toy Golem Steve made a pained noise, then.]
...You don't need her, Miss Neffy, and you never really did!
[Zirconia gave him a glare, and turned toward Nehelenia again.]
- You can talk and talk to your mirrors as much as you like, but I wouldn't be there anymore, Lady Nehelenia. And what would you do, when all the people who prased you to your face start saying bad things about you behind your back again?
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia, then, a look of horror on her face.]
...But...Zir...
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As the last mirror laid in shatters, John spoke forward. There would be only the barest flashes of his life: His separation from his Spartans, his goodbye from Cortana, but also spending time with Ami in front of a lake, and seeing Yuuko for the first time.
"That's the thing about Infinity. There's a lot of possibilities," John spoke, "you aren't bound to loneliness like many of us were before this place. Not anymore."
That was the difference between who he was, and of the many other Master Chiefs in other universes who lost Cortana, and instead of allowing himself to heal and understand that she would persist in memory and through loved ones, fought without reprieve or concern, destroying themselves, too terrified to face their own emotions.
John had learned. This world had saved him from that fate.
"The girl I knew didn't need her in the end," he muttered, "and neither will you."
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[Teenage Nehelenia looked at Zirconia again, then. Zirconia stared at her for a good long while, and then threw up her hands.]
...Oh, what the heck - You're supposed to be the Queen, and you can't even tell me to be gone?
[And then, her eyes went sad for a moment.]
- Oh, well, we had a good run I suppose. Having enouogh intelligence to think for myself was sort of nice, I must admit.
[And then, Zirconia's red eyes went cold indeed.]
...Goodbye, Nehe, and I wish you well - At least until me or my podlings or my podlings's podlings find some way to actually eat all those dreams and energies you're wasting like a idiot, that is!
[Teenage Nehelenia looked at her, then, and pulled herself up.]
- That will never happen, you weak puny Mirror Spirit!
[Zirconia sniggered, then.]
...Oh, yeah? We'll see about that - See you later, Nehe dear!
[And then, she ran, and ran - And disappeared, right through her own reflection mirrored in Teenage Nehelenia's left eye!]
[Plushie James groaned, then.]
- So she can do that, too? Cripes!
[Toy Golem Steve, in the meanwhile, had ran up to Teenage Nehelenia, and caught her as she crumpled into a heap.]
...You're free now, Miss Neffy...
[He said, and patted Nehelenia's arm.]
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- I'm...not sure how much I'm gonna last, though, sorry...
[Car Sarah nearly shrieked in horror, then, as she saw her son fall apart into what seemed to be around a 100 pieces! Lego Winter groaned, and quickly ran over to Steve, trying to figure out what had happened.]
[James, in the meanwhile, had pulled a unconsious Teenage Nehelenia onto a nearby sofa, and went to check what had happened to Steve. There was a big piece of cloudy crystal, and a well used folding knife around all the other pieces of the toy golem body. And hmmm - What was this, a hand mirror? Why did the thing look so bent, anyway?]
[And then, he stared as he picked up two other pieces of paper out of the mess.]
We need you to be our Hero! - The US and the Free World!
[James stared at the picture of Uncle Sam on the paper for a moment, and then went on to look at the other paper.]
We need you to be our Hero much more then those other people do! - HYDRA and associates!
[James had never seen such a cute version of the HYDRA logo, he did have to admit. The skull with tentacles actually had a smiling face, just for one thing...
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There was a moment to breathe as Steve held her. But he realized Steve glowed like a sun for a moment, before he himself collapsed into pieces. He bolted forward as an instinct to protect.
And yet, the pieces continued to glow, realizing he was still alive.
The Master Chief looked at each separate piece, realizing the energy in each one of them, sapient thoughts different from one another, the strongest point being around the crystal which resembled the senshi's own soul gems which stored and saved their consciousnesses and powers.
He took a look at the mirror... and the odd pieces of paper. He lifted one of them, realizing too quickly that this was going to be another human organization he'd have as much guilt in destroying as the maniacs of Sapien Sunrise.
"What is Hydra?"
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- HYDRA is sort of the Department Store of Evil, in Steve's part of the Multiverse I think.
They'll trade with everybody as long as it helps them get more power and influence to take over the world.
They also aren't one organization at all, there're more like a gaggle of loosely related cult like organizations which work together when neccesary. Their main creed is some kind of fascist something with HYDRA being fated to take over the world, I think, but on the other hand, it's basiclly a collections of cults, so.
[And then, he blinked as he saw a brightly shining nightlight in pieces of Toy Golem Steve.]
...Hey, I think I found his Starseed! It's still bright and pretty even when it's out of his body, ha ha...
[And then, he looked at the chunk of crystal and the knife and the bent handmirror.]
- And this is his Heart Crystal, and that's his Dream Mirror, and the knife is the same thing as the Heart Sword from Utena and Anthy's world, I think - So the Sword of Willpower, maybe? Or passion.
[There was a groan, then, as Teenage Nehelenia woke up behind them.]
....He's...probably broken because...the opposing Wishes were pulling him in different directions, I think, and...
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He turned to the star seed as James lifted it up, as well as the pieces that conformed him, but something told him immediately it wouldn't be that easy. Fascism in his world had technically ended with the Rainforest Wars in his world, but he remembered from human history that it often rose and vanished in waves.
Steve, by that logic, should have been from an Earth during World War II, where fascism had failed -- temporarily.
His own wishes, John asked himself, or their own?
A wish needed an equivalent cost in exchange, Yuuko had always told him, and either on benign or faustian ones, they always followed that rule. If both sides had taken Steve, then it was something much more sinister than a reality wave.
Hydra. John decided to start recording everything regarding the organization, and how to destroy it.
In either case, "we rebuild Steve with the traits he follows the most," he looks at the Heart Crystal, remembering the times he ventures into James' and his first Nehelenia's mind to face their demons, "and purge everything Hydra has done to him."
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[Dr Erskine went over to the pieces of Toy Golem Steven, and looked at the papers James had just looked at, his eyebrows raised.]
...Oh, for the love of -
[And then, he turned toward Car Sarah for some reason. Sarah was patting some of the Toy Golem pieces with her front wheels, looking very sad indeed.]
[...Hmmmmmm.]
[James went toward Dr Erskine, and whispered - ]
...So you know HYDRA, right?
[Dr Erskine sighed, then, and looked at Sarah again.]
- Sadly enough, yes. And, um, I...
...She reminds you of somebody you knew was connected to HYDRA. And so does Stevie.
[Dr Erskine shook his head with a sigh, then.]
- I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but, yes. It's the eyes, I think - Stevie looks much more like Johann's father then Johann himself ever did. Johann took after his mother, looks-wise.
[Huh, really? - No, wait...]
...The Johann Schmidt you knew wasn't blond and blue-eyed?
[Dr Erskine looked at him, quizzically.]
Black hair and sharp brown eyes, and a nose that stood out - He didn't look like his father at all actually. Why? Did you know Hermann?
[James thought about that, and then went up to John.]
...John. I think we have a problem here - Have you ever heard of the Red Skull?
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"Their leader, I assume."
He walked off the broken mirror, moving towards the center, touching his helmet to see if he could still talk to Yuuko.
"Is this due to the reality wave?"
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We are sorry for the disruptions in our normal service...
[Plushie James, in the meanwhile, sighed.]
...It depends on which version of the story you're going by, but the original Johann Schmidt was blond and blue eyed before the Super Soldier Serum turned him into, well, something like this.
[James tapped at his Phone, making a holo of the Red Skull float up.]
- And there's this backstory about his mother dying in childbirth when he was born and his father trying to kill him and being brought up in a orphanage, and also running away from the ophanage when he was 7 years old, and OK, I also think there was something about killing a girl who was nice to him but turned him down? The timeline doesn't really make sense, to be honest. And then, Johann meets Adolf Hitler when he was a teenager working as a hotel busboy and Hitler takes him on as a apprentice of sorts because he had an evil aura or something. Or so the original tale goes - HYDRA doesn't even appear in the story at this point.
[James looked at Sarah and Dr Erskine, and decided to skip around the fact that the story of Captain America was clearly fictional in his world. Oh, well, he was pretty sure they probably knew other worlds had fictional stories about them, but whatever.]
- So basically, the original is a Nazi supersoldier, and HYDRA isn't even a blimp in the rader.
[Dr Erskine sighed, then.]
...I don't think you're talking about the Johann Schimidt I knew at all, to be honest - Johann once broke a radio because he didn't want to listen to Hitler's speeches anymore.
[And then, he looked at the holo of the Red Skull, his hand to his chin.]
- But wait, that really looks a lot like something out of those old HYDRA pictograms, doesn't it? Hmmm...
[And then, he poked at his own Phone.]
...This is the Johann I knew, by the way.
[Everybody stared at the holo of a black haired man with a cold smile on his face.]
- Huh. He looks like a really nasty version of an older Teddy Santos or something, strangely enough.
[James looked at her.]
...Could this Teddy person be a relative of yours, by any chance?
[Sarah sighed at that.]
- Teddy Santos - His family owns Santos's Pizzeria, yes. We're not very closely related, but...
[Ohhhhh!]
[James looked at the pieces of Toy Golem Steve, and sighed.]
[He then went up to John, and whispered - ]
...I have no idea how the reality tampering actually was supposed to work, but for now, the original blond and blue eyed Johann is nowhere to be seen, and the Stevie we know is apparently related to the Red Skull's family in some fashion.
[And then, he paused.]
- It's like somebody or something tried to take Steve Grant Rogers and stick pieces of the original Johann Schidmit on top of him. Weird, eh?
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"A different upbringing," John concludes. Even Dr. Halsey had to mold him into something better, using what he already was to make him what he was meant to be.
The same was also possible. That someone capable of doing great harm being driven away from that same path that Hydra could represent.
He turns to his mother. With all the changes, it would be now his mother's task to protect him from that organization, and allows him to stay as the hero he was meant to be.
"We'll build him back together. And return to our mission."
Then, piece by piece, beginning by the most important ones that represented Steve's morality, compassion for his fellow man, drive for justice, and courage, he gathered him back together.
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[Plushie James groaned.]
We haven't even figured out if Stevie is actually the original Steven Grant Rogers at the core or not! I mean, what if he's actually the original Johann Schmidt in a Steve Grant Rogers wrapper or something?
[And then, he looked at the parts of Toy Golem Stevie again, and shook his head.]
- Now, I don't really think so - Stevie's a really good kid, after all. And since he is "born to be a hero", according to that Mirror Thing...
[That was when Teenage Nehelenia groaned, and got up the sofa. The tottered up to Action Figure John, and sighed.]
...Oh, come on, stop that, please.
[She carefully poked around in the pieces, and took a good look at the nightlight thing.]
- Very well- This Starseed apparently is powering a person called "Steven Grant Rogers", so this is the original Steven at core, I think.
[And then, she took a good look at the chunk of crystal.]
...This is his Heart Crystal, and golden thing stuck inside it is the so called Heart of Gold. The blackened bits are normal, don't worry, everybody has them...
[She poked at the bent handmirror, then.]
- This Dream Mirror is damanged, mostly because of other people's Wishes. Two different reality tampering pulling one in different directions would do that to you. A pity - He would have had such clear and beautiful dreams, I think...
[And then she looked at the knife, and her eyes narrowed.]
...This thing, on the other hand, is the Sword of Passion, or Willpower, or Aggression, depending on who you're asking, but...
[She pointed at the hilt. James eyes widened as he realized that there was a faint hint of initials on it - a crossed out J.S. and a SGR.]
- Let's see - Hmmm...
[James took the handknife, and took it apart. It seemed to be just a ordinary handknife, except there was a place inside to hilt which looked like it had born a symbol mark, once upon a time.]
...OK...So what would happen if I rubbed the J.S. out over here, and added some kind of nice symbol to the symbol mark over here?
[Teen Nehelenia shrugged at that, her eyes a bit blank.]
- You can try rubbing out Johann Schmidt's initials, but you wouldn't be able to rub them out all the way, I think?
[And then, she gave them a sad smile.]
...But on the other hand, putting in a nice symbol is probably a good idea. What should it be, I wonder?
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As Nehelenia talked, John listened. He moved around to gather Steve's heart, glowing bright in his eyes, with smaller shades and tendrils of darkness than he was forced to absorb in over twenty years of war. He then turned to the mirror, this time holding it delicately in comparison to the many natural mirrors he shattered, gathering them all close with the small stature he had. He looked then at the knife, seeing another glow. And finally, glowing with even more power in his eyes, the initials that laid over Steve.
John remained deep in thought as the others talked, pondering about the sign that could represent him, something that could symbolize the ideals a person like Steve ought to serve, something that represented a better future instead of the distorted ideals of the flawed movements, something that would allow Steve's heart to shine like the star...
A star...
He stood up, grabbed a pencil, and walked towards the initials. With the precision he had once painted the japanese kanji for luck, he drew the symbol of a five-pointed star.
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