Steven Universe: Mom Swap AU

Loyalists

Steven walked down the street, left to ponder his situation as he starred at the partly cloudy skies. He was given time to wonder what to do with his future now that he had defeated the Diamonds and freed Homeworld. He was always solving problems, always fighting, but now there's nothing left to fight and-

"What do I do?" Steven asked himself, "The war is over. The repairs are over. There's nothing left to fight or fix. Am I worthless now? Have I outlived my usefulness to my loved ones and become a burden to-"

Steven stopped these thoughts, these lies of depression and insecurity as Pheonix sat on the beach, reading a book on human law with a confused expression. Steven noticed this and saw a problem to solve, rushing over to distract himself by making himself useful. He greeted Pheonix, "Hey Pheonix!"

Phenoix eagerly responded, "Oh hello Steven! Good to see you!"

"Good to see you too!" Steven replied, "It's been a bit since we've been able to hang out."

"Sorry amigo," Phenoix chuckles, "I've been studying some stuff and-"

"Oh do you need help?" Steven inquired eagerly interpreting., "I can-"

"No," Pheonix shook her head, "I just came by to spend some time with Jasper and friends from the rebellion. I'm actually running for President on Homeworld. Human law is more of a hobby. You OK actually? You seem tense."

"Yeah I'm fine!" Steven lies with a chuckle, before deflecting the matter, "So you're running for office on Homeworld? What's that like?"

"Oh a lot like your country's elections," Phenoix explained, "Except that there's a lot less mud slinging."

"Interesting," Steven responds, "Uhhh... so you don't need help with anything? Nothing to fix?"

"Steven you fixed an empire," Pheonix reminds, "You've done enough fixing..."

Phenoix recalled the members of the Rebellion and adds, "But remember sometimes there's unforseen consequences that aren't our fault so... don't blame yourself for any that come up OK?"

"OK?..." Steven responds, confused.

"Well," Phenoix adds, "I've gotta handle some campaign stuff so, I'll see you later."

Phenoix patted Steven on the back and walked away, pulling out a high tech device reassembling a cell phone after she warped via a nearby Warp Pad at Little Homeschool.

The phone rang before a voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hey this is Ruby right?" Pheonix clarifies.

"Oh Phenoix?" The Ruby on the other end of the line responds, "I've been waiting for you to call! The debate is in starting soon! Are you prepared?"

Phenoix responds with a smile, "Yeah. Just wanted to make sure I understand what I'm up against. You're head of my PR, so, anything I need to know?"

"Well I think you would already know being part of the Rebellion," the Ruby explains, "Just... there's a lot of eyes on this one so... don't mess it up."

Phenoix nodded and the warp ended as she ended the call, "Thanks Ruby."

"You can do this Pheonix," the Ruby added with a smile, "Call me after."

"Will do," Phenoix smiled as she hung up and walked out onto stage.

The crowd watched in anticipation as Phenoix and her opponent walked onto the massive yellow stage, a crowd of countless Gems of all colors and sizes watching as they roared. Many waved the flag of Era 3, the flag that Phenoix stood behind but the other party waved a more ominous flag, black in color with an image of the four Diamonds, all shattered. On the other podium, behind this flag stood a green gem who Phenoix met once years ago...

Emerald sneered as she spoke first, "Pheonix."

"Emerald," Phenoix responded, both bitterly formal to the other as they shook hands and walked towards their microphones.

"So," Phenoix opened, "Your party, the Crysophrase Loyalists, yes? What are you campaigning for?"

"To finish the job," Emerald responded, "That Steven and Spinel started. You think you can magically undo thousands of years of sin with a wave of your hand? You're sorley mistaken. You and your Era 3 Party, you let them off the hook. With me in charge that won't stand."

"So you purpose murder?" Phenoix demanded, hoping to ruffle Emerald's feathers.

"They slaughtered billions across countless worlds," Emerald retorted, irritated, "I was under Yellow's thumb for thousands of years and feared for the lives of my crew because of her. You think we should just forgive and forget?"

"But if we kill and kill we end in a cycle of death and pain," Phenoix retorted getting nervous as the crowd begins to mutter amongst each other, "Where do we draw the line?"

"We handle the problem at the source," Emerald retorted before turning to the crowd, "And begin a new Era! No masters! No Diamonds! No false Gods! A new world! Our world!"

The crowd began to become riled up, and argued amongst themselves.

"This is murder!" Pheonix yelled, "You can't-"

Phenoix ducked under a spear that flew her way as the crowd broke into a riot, fighting each other.

"This debate is over!" Pheonix exclaimed nervously, "Uhhhh... bye!"

Pheonix dashed off stage as Emerald two left. Phenoix muttered to herself, "God what am I gonna do? I don't know how I can stop this... what are you doing Emerald?..."

Emerald meanwhile, contacted someone via a cellular device as she left, walking past the riot with a smug grin, "It's all going according to plan."

"Excellent," a voice on the other end responded, "Keep it up. The time to strike is soon."

"Are you sure about this plan?" Emerald inquired, "Tensions are really rising here on Homeworld. Fighting broke out just like that. At the drop of a hat. What if Steven gets involved? He has come back from the dead and if he gets his little possee involved, his family, then..."

The voice responds, "Don't worry Emerald. If the Diamonds were gonna tell him about this they would have done so already. This tension was already here. Need I remind you you ran for President before we reached out to you? Just keep fanning the flames. We'll prepare for phase two. Era 4 will soon be upon us..."