Chapter 29: Home

Keith leaned back into the couch, and turned the page of his book. The title read, "The No-Home Boys", and Keith seemed to be enjoying it. He gasped when he read the last page, and frantically flipped through what was left. "Do they only put the blank pages in the back to create false hope?" he whined.

Before he could get into a rant, the warp activated. He turned his head just in time to see his friends appear on the warp pad, each carrying several of the warp droids.

"Are those Katie's robots? Why'd you grab them?" he asked.

Shiro set them down. "We can't risk Katie reactivating them."

"She and the gems of Dabizaal cannot be allowed to resume their work." Blue backed him up.

"What exactly are they planning?" Keith asked innocently. Shiro and Blue both looked uncomfortable, and Hunk almost looked embarrassed.

Shiro was the one to break the awkward silence. "There was a time that gems wanted to something really bad to the earth. But there were gems like me, Blue, and your mother who decided to fight for this planet."

"Even if it meant we could never go home." Blue finished.

Keith frowned at the sad looks on his friends faces, but he wasn't sure how he could cheer them up. Maybe a sarcastic joke?

"So we're just like the No-Home Boys?" he attempted.

"No-Home Boys?" the confused gems asked.

Keith blushed. Why did he have to open his mouth? "Yeah. They're a pair of homeless teenagers running around the country going on adventures."

Blue giggled, and patted Keith's head. "Keith, we aren't like the No-Home Boys. We are literally standing in your home right now."

Keith sent her the meanest scowl he could muster, and continued to glare at her and Shiro's retreating backs as they left. It only vanished when he noticed a sad look on Hunk's face. "Do you miss your home, too?"

Hunk looked up, and blinked, confused. "What?"

"Do you miss Dabizaal?" Keith repeated.

The citrine just shrugged. "I've never been."

Keith frowned. "Then where are you from?"

Hunk paled, as if realizing he had slipped up. "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" Hunk didn't answer.

"Hunk?" Keith poked him on the arm.

"Hunk?" He tapped his shoulder.

"Hunk!" he shook his shoulder.

"Hunk... Hunk... Hunk... HUNK!" still nothing. Keith growled. "Hunk... Hunk... Hunk... Hunk... Hu-"

"All right!" Hunk squeaked, scampering away. "I give. I'll show you."

...

The light disappeared from around them, and they found themselves in some sort of canyon. There were dozens of glass tubes with gems on top of them and drills on the bottom scattered all around. They hung on the walls of the canyon, posed over large holes in the walls.

"Welcome to the Kindergarten." Hunk whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. Keith didn't notice. "Look at the place." he said, awed. He stepped off the warp, which was up on a stairwell, fancy, and walked out onto the soil. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at one of the drills.

"Just some old gem junk from a long time ago." Hunk shifted, tense and uncomfortable. "Can we go now?"

"Hold on." Keith ran over to one of holes. Now that he got a better look at it, he realized it was almost shaped like a person. "What's this?"

Hunk lowered his head, almost in shame. "It's my hole." he whispered. "It's where I was made."

"You were made here?" Keith asked, running a hand over the grooves.

"Yeah. One day..." Hunk snapped his fingers, "right out of the ground."

Keith stepped back, looking at the dark, dry, sunless walls. "So what about all the other holes?"

The two younger Paladins heard the sound of the warp activating, and saw Shiro appear on the pad. He seemed mad. "Blue told me you would be here, but I didn't want to believe it." he marched over to them, stepping in between Hunk and Keith. "Hunk, what were you thinking, bringing Keith to a Kindergarten?"

Hunk turned bright orange. "He wouldn't stop bugging me."

"So you just thought to bring him here?" Shiro asked. "How much have you told him?"

Hunk turned pale yellow. "You mean how bad gems came here to make more bad gems?"

"They grew other gems here?" Keith asked.

Hunk looked over at him, shame paint on his face. "It's fine now!" he tried to reassure. "We won, and we shut this place down, so now the earth's safe from parasites like me."

"Hunk, stop it!" Shiro glared at the yellow gem. "He's not ready."

"Shiro..." Keith whined.

"Keith, I'm sorry. I never wanted you to see this place." Shiro said.

"Then why don't you just leave?!" Hunk screamed. Shiro looked taken aback. This outburst wasn't like Hunk. But Hunk wasn't done. "Or, better yet, can you just admit that I'm an embarrassment to you?" He jammed a finger into Shiro's chest, demanding some sort of reaction. "Well?"

Shiro shook his head. "Keith, get back to the warp. We're leaving."

"Not until you answer me!" Hunk screamed, pushing Shiro back from him and Keith. Shiro flew back a few feet, quickly regaining his footing. He sighed, but it looked like he felt more inconvenienced than hurt.

"Hunk, I don't want to fight you." Shiro warned.

Hunk growled. "I wouldn't want to fight me either." he pulled his canon out of his gem, and fired a smoke bomb at Shiro. The pearl easily evaded it, and summoned his own weapon. As Hunk fired lasers at him, Shiro used his gauntlet to reflect them right back.

"Hunk, stop it." Shiro ordered. He held out his hand threateningly. "You can't beat me."

"I. Don't. Care." Hunk spat coldly, before firing several water balloons. They hit Shiro dead on, and the glow of his gauntlet fizzled out. This gave Hunk the perfect opportunity to fire a laser at the ground in front of Shiro. Rocks and earth exploded out, blowing Shiro back into one of the gem machines with enough force to snap someone's spinal chord.

Shiro groaned, and gently picked himself up. "I never asked to be made." Hunk whimpered out, causing Shiro to stare at him. Tears streaked down his face

"Hunk..." he tried to begin, but Keith stepped in front of them.

"Hunk... I'm sorry, please... just stop." he begged, voice cracking. "I can't stand watching you two fight..."

Hunk paused, and his face sunk, realizing what he was doing. "I-"

A rumbling sound echoed through the Kindergarten, and a nearby gem machine shifted. The blast from Hunk's canon must have shaken it. As it barreled down towards them, Keith created a bubble around him and Shiro.

"Hunk!" Keith called out in alarm. Hunk just stared at him, before running in the opposite direction. The machine fell directly on the bubble, breaking across it. As the rubble parted, Keith looked around. Hunk was nowhere to be seen. But Keith knew where he could be.

"Hunk?" Keith asked, walking up to the citrine-shaped hole.

"Just go away." Hunk whimpered, curled into a fetal position at the very back of the hole. "I'm bad and you shouldn't be around me."

Keith felt anger bubble up inside him. "That's ridiculous." That only made Hunk shrink in more. The anger in Keith's features softened. There wasn't anything he could do. He turned around, and went back over to his other friend. "Shiro, he won't listen to me." The pearl stared at him for a moment, before sighing.

He walked over to the hole, and sat down by the entrance. "Hunk..."

The citrine gave no indication he heard him.

"I had no idea you felt like this." he continued.

"WHAT!?" Hunk interjected, voice cold. "You had no idea? This is like, my entire existence!" Shiro wince at the un-Hunk-like tone. "You want to pretend like none of this ever happened! You think I'm just a big mistake!"

Shiro paled. "Hunk... no... By the stars, is that what you thing?" Hunk didn't answer. "I've never thought of you as a mistake. You didn't build this place. None of this is your fault. I... I'm sorry. You were the one good thing to come out of this mess." He patted Hunk's shoulder, trying to muster all the comfort he could. "I always thought you were proud of that."

Hunk sucked in a breath, snot and tears still pouring out of him. He crawled out of his hole, and gave Shiro a hug. "Thanks." he whispered.

Shiro smiled, barely holding back his own tears. "Let's go." The three Paladins stepped onto the warp, and went home.

...

Never push Hunk too far.