Peridot, with the aid of Lapis, began exploring the area around the beach house. She had to admit that studying Earth up close was much more effective than simply using her internal computer system. The knowledge would be useless to Homeworld, but if she was going to live on this planet, having as much information as possible could prove important.
She had to admit that her database had not done the planet justice. While there was limited information about the ecosystem, it was completely devoid of knowledge about the food chain of the planet. Such a thing did not exist on Homeworld. Gems did not eat. There were no other species on the planets they controlled.
But Earth seemed to be teaming with life. There were plants, animals, weather, even different terrains. Each served its own purpose. Somehow, despite all its chaos, Earth had managed to survive for thousands of years. Not only that, but it had somehow managed to survive Homeworld's attempt to control it. Of course, the Crystal Gems had something to do with it, but if her knowledge of history served her right, the humans of this world were also present and aided in the war.
Peridot collected several samples to study closer at home. Lapis had no interest in the scientific nature of it all, but she did enjoy keeping the other gem company. She had a little knowledge of the planet from her observations and from her previous visit several thousand years ago, so she did her best to answer Peri's questions.
"So this is water?" She observed, looking out at the crashing waves of the ocean. "This is what you can use your powers on?"
"Sure is." Lapis sat down on the sand and made herself comfortable.
Peridot went back to typing notes into her database. "Steven told me you once controlled the whole thing."
"Sure did." Lapis took in a deep breath of salty air.
The green gem paused, looking down at Lapis and then out to the ocean, thinking about something. "But there isn't water on Homeworld. How were you useful?"
Lapis leaned back and put her arms behind her head, a common position she took when she was trying to relax. She laid down in the sand and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the idyllic beach. "Homeworld conquered a lot of planets. Homeworld didn't have a use for water. So what do you think a gem who can control that very substance would be useful for?"
The other gem joined her on the sand, settling down on it as best she could with her limb enhancers. "Removing it?" she ventured a guess.
"That." Lapis nodded. "But first, it was generally useful to terraform the area to suit Homeworld's needs. Creating the best conditions for growing gems and building things. Water is only useful to organic lifeforms."
"But wasn't Homeworld going to start a colony here? Why is there water?" Peridot puzzled over the vast ocean before her. "Using it to Homeworld's advantage and then removing it seems like it would be a logical first step."
"Controlling all the water on the surface of a planet takes a lot of concentration. I wasn't the only lapis lazuli to be sent to Earth. But all the others who came before me disappeared." The blue gem sighed. "Lapis lazuli gems can take on another gem in a fight. But not if they don't know they're coming."
"The rebels captured them, didn't they?" The story was all falling into place for Peridot.
"That's what Homeworld thought. Those other gems were never found. At first they thought the planet might have been more hostile than they'd counted on. So they sent a few soldiers to protect the next lapis lazuli. They were attacked, but their numbers were greater than that of the traitors, and so the rebels escaped and the soldiers reported back to Homeworld."
"How do you know all this?" Peridot interrupted.
Lapis didn't seem phased by the intrusion. "I got a briefing before I was sent to Earth. Plus I asked Pearl and Garnet about their involvement."
So Lapis had been flying off to see the Crystal Gems as well during her travels? Peridot would have said that wasn't fair, but the warp pad leading back to Steven's house was accessible to her at any time, so she really had no one to blame but herself. Perhaps she should follow suit and get more information about the war for Earth, from the point of view of those who had betrayed Homeworld back then.
"The rebels not only kept the lapis lazuli gems from continuing their work, but they also grew in numbers. Homeworld was getting nowhere fast, no matter how many soldiers they sent down. Somehow the gems fighting for Earth kept outmaneuvering and outsmarting Homeworld's own forces." Lapis exhaled, as she her story was getting closer to unpleasant memories. "Eventually, it turned into a war."
Peridot had been busily taking not on Lapis' story. Sure, she knew about the war from the few files she had on hand, but it was only because she had had an assignment to Earth and a brief summary was included in the documents she was given to aid on her mission. Most other gems on Homeworld had never heard of it, unless they had been involved. It was an embarrassment to Homeworld and the Diamonds. Their own kind had not only turned against them en masse, but managed to win an entire planet, a feat that had never been done before, or repeated since. For all the power and efficiency Homeworld and the Diamonds boasted, the loss of Earth was a scourge upon their reputation. It was no surprise they'd tried to keep the events hush hush.
Lapis continued. "The Diamonds tried to jump start the colony and force the rebels out. They thought if they showed how serious they were about conquering it, the rebels might admit defeat and surrender. They were pretty wrong." she smiled at the thought of their defeat. They'd been the ones to put her in the mirror. Homeworld was so disorganized in the fight for Earth that they apparently stopped being able to differentiate between their own forces and the enemies. No wonder they were outsmarted. "Some of the buildings were made, and terraforming was continued, although at a much slower pace. With the war going on, progress wasn't being made fast enough with all the delays the rebels were causing. They started to assign lapis lazuli gems to different parts of the Earth, instead of just having one do all the work. It spread Homeworld's forces thin, and there wasn't enough protection provided for me while I worked."
Peridot didn't need Lapis to tell her what happened next. She'd become trapped in the mirror, her gem had been cracked, and when the war ended she waited for millenniums before she was found by the Crystal Gems. Even then, her freedom did not come until she found her way into the hands of Steven.
"No wonder Homeworld tries to keep the war a secret. Of course, three of them- four, if you count Steven- did manage to destroy my work space in the Prime Kindergarten. That could take weeks to repair, especially since Homeworld's tech was much less advanced when they came to Earth. If the rebels managed to keep creating small problems like that, it would assuredly prevent Homeworld from making progress. It sounds like they weren't interested in the war and were more interested in simply annoying Homeworld until they gave up." Peridot paused, thinking back on Lapis' story. "But where did all the gems who disappeared go? Did they really all join the rebellion?"
Lapis sat up and looked at Peridot. "Homeworld never found out." she said, complete seriousness in her voice.
Peridot looked uncertain, before she ventured, "Do you think they were shattered by the rebels?" She thought about Pearl, Garnet, and even Amethyst. Steven, she knew, had not been involved in the war, unlike his mother. But they had all helped build a home for her on Earth. They'd let her live here, on their planet. All of that, even though she had never pledged her loyalty to their forces.
"Nah, they're all trapped in these weird bubbles in a secret room at Steven's house. The rebels didn't believe in shattering gems. But, if a Homeworld gem didn't want to join their forces, they couldn't just let them run free, either. It was still a war, after all." She stood up, stretching her limbs.
The green gem followed, shaking sand from her limb enhancers. "I guess if they had a soft spot for the Earth, they'd have a soft spot for their fellow gems, too. Even the enemy."
Lapis turned to Peridot. "Where should we explore next?"
Peridot stepped forward, before stopping with a cringe. "I think some of this sand got wedged in my limb enhancers. Why did you have to sit down in such a filthy area?"
"The Earth is covered in dirt, Peridot. Better get used to it." she followed as the green gem headed back toward the house.
"Ugh." she retorted with disgust. Earth would still take some getting used to.