Lapis Lazuli

"It was thousands of years ago. I was only meant to visit (earth) for a short time, but I got caught in a middle of a war. It was awful! I was picked up by a Homeworld soldier and confused for a Crystal Gem and used as a tool. They asked me, "Show us your base!", "Where is your leader?" I didn't know. I couldn't say I'm not one of them. I was left behind. And there I stayed. Freedom in my sight, but out of reach for ages, until I was found."

- Lapis Lazuli telling Steven about her unfair imprisonment by the Homeworld Gems.

Lapis Lazuli is a major character in Steven Universe, initially serving as the main antagonist of the episodes "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem". She is a former Homeworld Gem and a former agent of Blue Diamond. She later becomes good and currently lives in the barn with Peridot and is now an ally to the Crystal Gems and Steven. However, as of the episode "Raising the Barn", Lapis flies off into space and takes the barn with her after refusing to help Peridot and Steven.

She is voiced by Jennifer Paz.

Appearance
Lapis Lazuli is a blue Gem with a light blue dress. When her gemstone is healed, she gains the ability to generate wings made out of water. She has a tear drop shaped gem on her back. Lapis' slender and somewhat short build gives her that of an appearance of an older teenage girl.

Personality
While she is kind, happy, polite, assured, friendly, rapturous, thoughtful, and enthusiastic with Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli is bitter, cunning, ruthless, vindictive, materialistic, unscrupulous, distrustful, unforgiving, and manipulative towards the Crystal Gems, believing they care more about the Earth than their own kind, likely due to their being unaware for so many years about her captivity.

Even more in "Same Old World" where it is revealed when Lapis went to visit earth she was mistaken with a Crystal Gem and caught as prisoner by her own kind.

When confronted with an enemy more powerful than herself, she displays a defeatist and worried approach. She believes that putting up a struggle can only make the situation worse. In "The Message", she delivers a frantic message to Steven about the approaching invasion, begging him to submit to the Homeworld should they cross paths. In "Jail Break", she gives similar advice when Steven stumbled across her, mentioning Homeworld might go easy on them if they follow orders. However, Lapis can and will immediately become aggressive, obstreperous, impatient, and hostile, if she deems it necessary.

While she is by no means truly evil or outright malicious, she expresses an overwhelming desire to return home, going as far as to use one of the Earth's oceans to create a giant water construct for the purpose of using it as a lift in order to get closer. In doing so, she shows that she can be rather inconsiderate and indifferent, as she does not care about the human race or the Earth, with the exception of Steven. Overall, Lapis is a passionate Gem who doesn't hesitate to fight anyone who stands against her, but is completely grateful, solicitous, and appreciative to Steven for releasing her and then healing her gem despite being pained at her hand. Lapis is also portrayed as being a loyal and praiseworthy martyr to Steven and willing to suffer if it means protecting him from Jasper or any danger in addition to Malachite.

However, she is also shown to be very stubborn, anxious, hesitant, and indecisive in cooperating or accepting help from others unless she has no other choice, seen in both "Jail Break", when she refuses to be set free by Steven, and "Chille Tid", where she is reluctant to give the Crystal Gems her location for them to find her and aid in the situation.

Season 1
"Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" begins with Pearl giving Lapis's mirror to Steven so he can learn about Gem culture. However, Lapis ends up making friends with Steven through recordings of things the mirror has seen. She eventually convinces Steven to free her from the mirror. Initially grateful, Lapis becomes enraged when she sees the Crystal Gems, accusing them of not helping her even though they knew someone was trapped in the mirror and angrily asking them if they ever even wondered who she used to be.

Lapis then takes all the water from Beach City in order to attempt to reach the Gem Homeworld, since while her Gem is cracked she cannot summon her wings. When the Crystal Gems attack her to get her to put the ocean back, she attacks powerfully and almost kills the Crystal Gems, plus Greg, Connie, and Lion. Steven uses his shield to protect them and Lapis lets him alone come see her. When he gets to the top level of the water column (which has reached outer space), Lapis says that unlike the Crystal Gems, she never had any faith in Earth and just wanted to return to the Gem Homeworld. Steven says he understands how she feels about home, but then says that's why she needs to put the ocean back, "The ocean is an important part of my home". Lapis says that she didn't take the ocean with malicious intent, rather she was trying to stretch it to reach all the way to the Homeworld, since she can't get back herself with her Gem cracked. Steven excitedly states that he has healing powers, which Lapis reacts to with shock. Steven then licks his hand (his healing powers are constrated in his saliva) and touches it to her Gem, healing it. She then heartily thanks Steven, returns all the ocean water back to Beach City and flies off into space to the Gem Homeworld. Back at Beach City, Garnet acknowledges that Lapis made it off the planet, and Pearl to ask what does it mean for them. Garnet just says to wait and see, forshadowing "The Return".

Lapis later reappaears in "The Message" via a video transmission warning Steven that there is a Gem (Peridot) who knows his name that is coming to Earth to invade. Lapis also tells Steven to not fight back as this would only lead to devastation.

Lapis later appeared in "The Return" and "Jail Break", it was revealed that she was forced by the Homeworld Gems to reveal information about the Crystal Gems and was then sent back to Earth with Jasper and Peridot. Upon reaching Earth, she was questioned by Jasper as to if the Crystal Gems were really the Gems that rebelled against the Homeworld thousands of years ago, which Lapis confirmed. Jasper, after expressing her crestfallen disappointment in the Crystal Gem's size and by the fact that Rose Quartz was nowhere to be found, began to return into their ship and ordered Peridot to fire a laser and wipe them out, much to Lapis's horror and she begs Jasper not to hurt Steven, saying he's just a human and no threat. However, just before the laser can hit, Steven summons his mother (Rose Quartz)'s weapon, which makes Jasper believe that Steven is Rose. Jasper angrily asks if Lapis knew about this and Lapis says that while she did, it wasn't relevant to their mission. After a brief fight, the Crystal Gems are taken prisoner and Lapis herself is thrown in a cell.

When Steven and Ruby stumble upon her while looking for Sapphire, Lapis states that fighting against the Homeworld Gems is no use because Jasper and Peridot are too evil. Steven replies that this is precisely why they must fight. When Lapis shows no intention to move, Steven says he'll come back for her.

She does not appear again until the end of "Jail Break", when she emerges from the rubble from when Garnet crashed the spacecraft following Ruby and Sapphire's fusion into her. To defeat the fusion Gem Garnet, Jasper demands that Lapis Lazuli fuse with her. Lapis agrees, and the two fuse to create the monster Gem Malachite. However Lapis quickly takes full control and her true intention for fusion is revealed. In order to save Steven from Jasper, Malachite chains and drags herself into the ocean; Lapis's attempt to imprison Jasper in the ocean forever.

Season 2
In "Chille Tid", she appears in Steven's dream, telling Steven to not distract her as she is keeping Jasper trapped in the ocean in order to protect him. She also confirms to him that her and Jasper are going to stay fused as Malachite.

Season 3
In "Super Watermelon Island", Malachite is seen on Mask Island which is also inhabited by the Watermelon Stevens. After Steven discovers this via a dream the crystal gems go to fight her. With the help of the watermelons the gems are able to stop Malachite and rescue Lapis, although Jasper fell into a crack that the Cluster made while attempting to take form. Lapis is later seen unconscious in the end of "Gem Drill".

In the beginning of "Same Old World", when she wakes up, she decides to leave the other gems, but has no where to go. Steven then agrees to help her find a home. In this journey Lapis revealed she was originally just meant to briefly visit earth, but was caught up in a battle and mistaken for a rebel. She was captured and put into a mirror as punishment. When the rebels won and the Homeworld gems fled she was abandoned on earth, but eventually found by Pearl. She then decides to stay at Greg's barn, but finds out Peridot is also staying there, causing conflict and confusion.

Since "Super Watermelon Island", she is not considered a threat to the Crystal Gems nor any human being, and she has also shown empathy for others, befriending Peridot and the Crystal Gems in the process, thus she's not a villain to the date.

Season 5
Afraid of being caught in another Diamond attack, Lapis takes the barn and leaves Earth, running away to the Moon.

Quotes
"I'm Lapis Lazuli, and you can't keep me trapped here anymore!"

- Lapis to the Crystal Gems.

"Don't you know anything Steven? Your friends, they don't really care about other Gems. All they care about is the Earth, but I never believed in this place."

- Lapis explaining her distrust to Steven

"I just want to go home."

- Lapis to Steven before she was healed.

"... It's Lapis."

- Lapis to Steven before she flew away.

"Just let me do this for you!"

- Lapis to Steven.

"We're Malachite now."

- Lapis fuse to Jasper.

"Thank you, Steven."

- Lapis turning to the good side and redeeming herself.

"I am not getting caught up in the middle of another war."

- Lapis refusing to stay on Earth with Peridot and Steven.

Trivia

 * She is the first non-fused gem to be discovered, as well as the first to not be previously established in earlier episodes.
 * Like Sugilite, Lapis is not a birthstone.
 * Lapis is the second gem to have a last name, due to the fact that her gem has two words in its name, the first being Rose Quartz.
 * Lapis Lazuli is the only Gem with a color scheme that only consists of four colors, making her the simplest colored Gem.
 * Her appearance is similar to Pearl's.
 * In mythology, Lapis Lazuli are associated with gods, power, spirit, vision, royalty, honor, wisdom, and truth.
 * Unlike the other gems, Lapis Lazuli is callous towards Earth.
 * Lapis' design is incredibly similar to that of the Golden Bat character Penny.
 * She is so far the first and only known Gem to be the Gem equivalent of a NEET (Not in Employment, Education, or Training).