Another Crystal Life

Chapter 6- Beach Day

The sun. The ocean. The gems in bathing suits. Lapis Lazuli was in the ocean, indifferent to the other Homeworld gems who stayed on land. The sparkling water cradled around her and she felt a sort of infinite feeling from the ocean as it stretched into the distance, going farther and farther away. The ocean was Lapis's safety, her only comfort on the planet Earth. However, it also served as a reminder that she wasn't on Homeworld anymore. Homeworld didn't have an ocean like earth; it didn't teem with life or contain a high concentration of salt and it certainly wasn't as massive. If anything, the feeling of the ocean was very bittersweet.

Lapis dipped her head in the water, observing the world below her. She was suprised to see an entire ecosystem beneath her feet. It felt so natural and free. Earth really was an alien planet... On Homeworld, everything that lived was controlled. Systematically placed. Orderly and strict. But here, in the swirling waters of Earth, creatures of all sorts of random patterns and shapes simply moved as they pleased. Lapis felt the tugging in her chest, the sense of awe and displacement. She was just a bystander, a mere spectator in this watery enviorment. And that made her feel so...empty.

I don't belong here.

Lapis closed her eyes, shutting the Earth out. The ocean no longer felt like a comfort, but a strange and foreign thing. And Lapis didn't like it. Now, she just wanted to go home. To her ocean. Her world. Her home. But Lapis knew inwardly that she couldn't. She had nowhere. Nothing. The Gem Reformation promised her a new life and she couldn't tell if it delivered what it promised. The lines of good and bad, bad and worse; they had blurred. Lapis remember her time as an object: a mirror of all things. A reflection of all the good and bad. It seemed nothing had really changed.

The ocean gem pushed herself to the surface of the water towards another seemingly endless plane: the blue sky. She broke through, emotionally drained. Perhaps it was time to head back to shore. Lapis cut the water, heading back towards the Homeoworld Class. The closer she got, the more apparent it was the Homeworld Class was not the only one on the beach. The Crystal Class...
The lapis's heart burned with anger for she knew what they really were. Gems of lower than acceptable in Homeworld society, the ones whose parents had caused the Gem Reformation.

Lapis felt the end of the ocean as it lapped against the sandy ground. The sand gritted against her blue skin as she stood up. From the corner of her eye, she could see her guardian looking disapprovingly at her. The petite cererulean gem tried her best not to shudder: Yellow Diamond had such a sharp gaze. And Lapis was constantly under it. Unfortunately, even if Yellow Diamond wasn't "watching', someone else was. Peridot, one of the descendants of Yellow Diamond, was no form of security either. Always constantly tattle-telling and whining. Lapis turned away from Yellow Diamond, gazing back at the Crystal class. Many of the gems were carefree, laughing and playing together. It almost made Lapis envious. What she wouldn't give to be free...

*****

Yesterday was such a fiasco. Pearl and Garnet were called to the adminstration center of the school. Pearl had never been so afraid in her life so she instinctively clung to Garnet's arm. The larger gem didn't seem to mind. Even though the ballerina was grateful for Garnet's friendship, she didn't expect such a...explosive response to a bully. But yet, it left a sense of awe and admiration. When they reached the center, they were personally escorted to Authority Yellow Diamond. The atmosphere of the yellow control area was stiff, cold, and unwelcoming. And rightfully so, it matched the Authority perfectly.

Pearl barely remembered what the headmistress had said, her concentration mainly on not fainting right there on the spot. Apparently, Miss Quartz had vouched for the two beforehand, thus the two were not punished. The encounter with Yellow Diamond was a grave reminder anyhow. Even Garnet was shaken up by her presence. The pearl had clutched dearly to Garnet's arm the entire time until her driver picked her up from school.

But today, Miss Rose had planned a beach day for her class; it was not a day to worry. Pearl sat primly underneath a large umbrella, an over-sized hat upon her head. She actually rather fond of the beach, not necessarily getting in the water, but the atmosphere made her feel at peace. Amethyst was splashing in the waves with Miss Rose and Garnet was simply laying out on a towel. Everything on Earth was strangely compelling and natural. Pearl pressed her fingers into the soft snowbed of sand beside her, letting it the feeling run through her tips. The sand made her feel...empowered somehow. Pearl pulled her hand away: she did not acknowledge the feeling nor the blue gem staring straight at her.

****
The sadness in Lapis had quickly vanished and was replaced with gripping rage. A rage that seemed to make the ocean boil. She knew that gem, the one with the large hat and pale skin. Pearl Perle, the daughter of Sir Blanc Perle. A knight in the Gem Reformation.

-Flashback to several years ago-

Time wasn't passing or maybe it wasn't there at all. Nothing made sense, but yet it did. Lapis felt the area with her hands. Her enclosure, the mirror. The area was smooth and cold. The walls were glass and Lapis could see the outside world paralleing through them. The gem often wondered in her isolation. What did she look like? She had seen herself maybe once or twice. Did she have a vioce? What did it sound like? Perhaps she had these things once, but her memory was scattered and vacant. It was replaced by commands and images of the outside world. The horrible and wonderful outside world.

She picked up a few words: Gem Reformation. Gem War. Rebelliion. Freedom. They promised things. Good things. But Lapis could see through her glass walls that they had a price. Her former master paid the price with her life. It was a gruesome thing to watch, but the enclosure of the mirror did not allow her to turn away. A sudden crack! What was happening?! The walls of the mirror shattered and cracked. Lapis screamed with her silent voice.

Lapis was alone. Abandoned at the "Galaxy Warp". The windows of her shelter were broken and the world disoriented around her. Lapis finally knew she had a body because she felt pain. It felt like another eternity had passed before she was found. A well-decorated, but ruffled soldier picked the mirror up. A Gem Reformer emblem! He could free her! The good things she heard, he could give them to her! "How peculiar..." the gem said. The knight turned the mirror, inspecting it. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "A gem powered mirror...a cracked one though..."

-End of Flashback-

No. The Crystal class was a lie. A cover-up for the things the Reformers did. They didn't really care about other gems...all they cared about was themselves.

At that moment, the blue gem forgot about her guardian, her common sense, her surroundings. She sent a large wave over the Crystal's area. She watched as the water crashed into them, muffling their screams and horror. But Lapis did not care, she felt no sympathy for the offspring of the gems who had taken her away from home.

~Author's Note~

HEY LOOK! A poorly written chapter update! OMIGOSH YOU GUYS: OVER 240 VIEWS?!?!? Thank you guys so much! This chapter seems more like a filler because I'm having some writer's block at the moment, but there is some foreshadowing here. I wanted some sort of battle between Pearl and Lapis but that will come in a later chapter for the sake of the flow. There's also more to the flashback.

AND LOOK AT ALL THE INCONSISTENCIES IN THE STORY! I didn't plan on so many views and support for this, so I didn't think ahead that much. I honestly think the first few chapters of the story was WAY BETTER in writing, so I will try to keep that sort of quality up, but updates won't be as frequent as I would like.

Due to my laziness of not wanting to go back and edit the other chapters right now:
-Pearl was very young during the end of the Gem Reformation, and in the first chapter, I wrote that she was 9 years old. But only in appearance, she is actually older in human years.
-Lapis is older than the gems in the Crystal class (but not really in appearance, perhaps she's about 11 or so in form).

Next chapter is most likely going to be: Mother Knows Best. This is a chapter about the inside of Authority Yellow Diamond's household (with Peridot and Lapis). It's going to be a plot heavy chapter and hopefully not as filler-y as this one. Unless I change my mind, expect this chapter very soon! I won't write this long an author's note often. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR READS, VOTES AND COMMENTS!!!!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!