"GET AWAY FROM ME," Steven yells at Grace and Simon, who have noticed him on the floor. "I'm not safe, you need to leave me alone, I could hurt you."
Grace and Simon look at each other for a brief moment, before continuing to approach Steven.
"It's okay, we won't hurt you," Grace comforts.
"But I could hurt you," Steven responds.
"I highly doubt it," Simon says in a confident tone, "You might not know who we are, but trust me when I say that we're the toughest passengers on this train, nothing can hurt us."
Grace attempts to walk up to Steven, but he creates a pink hexagonal wall, preventing her and Simon from getting any closer.
"Just go away, before I can hurt anyone else," Steven says to Grace, clearly distressed. Grace and Simon look in wonder at the pink wall in front of them.
"Did you just make this?" Grace asks.
Steven stays silent, letting the wall do its job at preventing them from getting any closer. Grace touches the wall, only for a pink spike to appear, immediately pushing her hand away while pricking one of her fingers. Grace is initially in pain, but quickly comes back to reality, releasing the valuable asset Steven could be. She begins to try and calm him down.
"Hey... kid, sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I know you think you're dangerous, but trust me when I say we can handle it. You don't have to be afraid," Grace says in a calm voice. "I see your number there, you've already made a lot of progress, bigger than most we already have in the apex"
Steven stays silent, looking at the ground.
"Let's start from the beginning, what's your name? My name is Grace Monroe." Grace explains.
Steven stays silent for a moment, but eventually opens up, "I'm.... Steven"
"Okay Steven, It'd be nice if you could take down this wall, or whatever it is." Grace says with a laugh, "We just want to get to know you, I'm sure you've seen a lot on the train now, probably have been told a bunch of lies, probably been tormented time and time again. All we want to do is help you, that's more than we can say about this pseudo-conductor in charge right now"
"Wha... What are you talking about?" Steven asks.
"Wow, you really don't know, do you. Who do you think runs the train, surely you must have thought of that at some point." Grace points out.
Steven looks to the side, considering Grace's words.
"Look kid, the train isn't what it used to be. The conductor used to be this woman named Amelia, but this little two faced robot took the train from her and started using it for his own purposes. I'm the leader of a group called the Apex, dedicated to returning the train to who it really belongs to, us." Grace says.
"Amelia" Steven thinks, remembering the name from the abandoned car that he and Hailee explored a week ago. He drops the wall, allowing her to approach. Grace hunches down right next to Steven, putting her hand on Steven's shoulder.
"I've heard of Amelia, what happened to her?" Steven asks.
"She used to run this train, prioritized us and made this train ours, but she was overthrown, and now no one knows where she is. This little robot that overtook her is now trying to get rid of all of us on this train." Grace tells. "Come on, our base isn't far from here, just a few cars down."
Steven looks at his number. It still extends around his hand, not moving up or down in any direction.
"Are you sure, I'm... dangerous, I shouldn't be around people." Steven says while backing away from Grace.
YOU ARE READING
Infinity Train Book SU: Gem Shards (Steven Universe AU)
FanfictionThe events of the past few months have begun to take a toll on his mental health. Steven no longer trusts anyone to help him, but his options become very limited when he is abducted by the Infinity Train, a seemingly infinite train with countless ca...
