Part 2 of Lapis actually being social!... That's all I've got...
The cordial gem walked downstairs and moved to the warp pad, clearly intending for their activity to take in a faraway location. The sun was making its way west outside, but the light was still beaming with only a few clouds offering shade. Lapis was already weighing options on what she could have in mind.
"Lapis, I would like to take this time and show you something. My only concern is how fast you can fly."
That instantly through her for a loop for umpteenth time today. "I'd say pretty fast. Considering I flew all the way from here to Homeworld by myself, we could easily reach anywhere here in time. Where do you have in mind?"
"A place that is very precious to me. Normally it is a long hike away from where we'll be warping to, but depending on your speed we can make it with time to spare." Lapis noted how Pearl appeared jittery already, but she could not distinguish if it was from doubt or cheer. Either way, they were wasting time standing around. Seconds later they were in an earthen canyon surrounded on both sides by massive cliffs. Considering the height, Lapis quickly understood why flight would make this trip less strenuous.
"Alright, let's go."
She felt awkward carrying a passenger like her, but also knew it could be tricky following her from the ground. Lapis took to the sky and out of the crevasse and followed Pearl's directions over miles and miles of barren ground. What would take three hours for Pearl on foot flew by in five minutes and soon reached another steep wall. She was stupefied at the pace Lapis was making, who did not even flinch as she banked straight upwards and began flying parallel to the rock face. She quickly spotted the entry to the cave Pearl was searching for and landed. Once inside she could tell it was no ordinary cavern, it somehow remained fully lit despite the waning sunlight and the floor was perfectly smooth. Pearl dismounted and led the way inside until the two came across a massive circular stage in the cave's center. It glowed with light as soon as their feet touched the surface, taking Lapis by surprise.
"What is this place? How do you know about it?" she asked as she stood bewildered by her surroundings.
"This was a secret armory for Rose Quartz, it's been here for thousands of years. Rose herself told me about it. I used to think I was the only one who knew, actually."
Pearl's somewhat stiff demeanor became more so. Her posture was impeccable as she walked to the center of the stage where a single square pedestal bearing the same pattern as Steven's shield stood. Her voice held the unmistakable wonder that came when remembering a fond time in the past mixed with a tinge of sadness. She placed her hand on the pedestal and suddenly a ring of armors from different time periods sprung into existence. Lapis was astounded and tried her hardest to take all of them in at once.
"I wanted to show you something related to the Crystal Gems, since it seems you don't know much about us. What do you think so far?"
The water gem was not sure what to think at this point. The part of her brain that was not absorbing every detail of the armor collection was conflicted. Sure, she knew who Rose Quartz was, but she only recognized the name. At one point she might have hated Rose, being the leader of the group responsible for her imprisonment after all, but now she had no idea. She still had to admit the collection was amazing, and figured Pearl was taking a real risk showing her something so close to her heart.
"This is… incredible. How did she get all of these?"
"Each one of these has a story behind them, but you should know Rose's collection did not just include armor."
As if on command, the armor vanished and was replaced by an equally eclectic line of swords of all shapes and sizes. A line of axes then appeared opposite to the blades, further raising Lapis' curiosity. While she was gawking at every minor detail, Pearl looked on all of them with a small smile.
"I'm glad you find this all so entertaining. I wanted to show you a bit of about our history before you depart. Do you have anything you wanted to ask me?"
With her imagination in overdrive, Lapis happily obliged. "Yes, I do! How did all this start? Why did Rose do all of this? Where… are the rest of you? I know there had to be more than just you three."
Pearl knelt beside the glowing pedestal and put all the melee weapons away with a movement of her hand. She invited Lapis to join her on the ground and breathed in as she collected her thoughts before beginning a lengthy lesson on the history of the Crystal Gems.
"Well, to answer your first question, it all started thousands of years ago when Pink Diamond decided to colonize Earth. Of course, this meant making the original Kindergarten to create her subordinates and among them was Rose Quartz. At first Rose was just like her fellow Gems under Pink Diamond, working to prepare a colony until she began to notice the world around their operation…"
Pearl never wavered despite the glut of information she was giving. She went on to describe Rose trying in vain to reason with her diamond, forming an underground rebellion with those also dissatisfied with the hierarchy of Homeworld, and how she came to be the most feared gem ever created. She also mentioned how she, a pearl abandoned by her original owner, came into the fray and learned all she could under Rose's empowerment and compassion. Lapis hung onto every word and became stupefied at how much toil and triumph went into Pearl's story. She may have been familiar with war, but speaking to a longtime veteran put the entire event into perspective. Pearl only stopped when Lapis asked the occasional question or asked for clarification and by the end of the tale, their time was almost over. The moon was now climbing the sky above the cave but all the two were concerned about was the saga of Rose Quartz. When Pearl finally finished, she realized there was one last piece of business she had to take care of with the aquatic gem.
"Lapis, I'm sorry for what happened to you."
"What? Why are you…" she started, clearly confused, but Pearl motioned to let her finish.
"I may not be the one responsible for you being in that mirror for so long, but I wish it did not take thousands of years to set you free. You were innocent the whole time and I'm sorry if one of my old friends hurt you. You never deserved any of this. I figured you were owed a formal apology after all this time."
Lapis was taken aback by her frankness, but greatly appreciated the gesture. "Thanks Pearl. I guess I didn't help matters by assuming you were all bad. Maybe I could have spoken up earlier and then things would have turned out differently."
"Perhaps," Pearl shrugged as the pair walked back towards the entrance, "But as much as I remember the past fondly I prefer focusing on the present." They both smiled at that thought as Lapis once again took to the sky with a passenger on her back. As they flew, a question came to Pearl as she was being flown back home.
"Lapis, by any chance do you know who originally put you in there?"
Lapis slowed down as she tried to recall the painful memories. "No. I was poofed by some gem and then a Homeworld soldier put me in there. I actually don't remember much before I came to Earth… All I know is that the gem who poofed me was big, purple and had really weird multicolored hair."
The rest of their nighttime flight was in silence as Pearl mulled over the possibilities in her mind. She knew someone who matched the description but could not decide if she would do something so needlessly violent. Then again…
"Pearl, are you alright? We're here."
The slender gem snapped back to reality and realized they were on the canyon warp pad once again.
"Oh, sorry. I was just lost in thought. Let's go back." So, they did and returned to the beach house as nine o'clock was closing in fast. Steven was pleased to see the two.
"Hey guys! Garnet's waiting outside for you, Lapis."
Before her guest walked off, Pearl shook her hand and wished her a fond farewell. "Well, I hope you enjoyed our little trip. Have a safe journey, Lapis Lazuli."
And this leaves just Garnet! Stay tuned for next week where... I have some better intros and outros.
Thank you all so much for reading! Please feel free to leave a review!