"Do you guys have everything you need?" Pidge asked. She and Keith helped Hunk load the last of the supplies into the yellow lion.

"Yup, I think that's everything!" He said cheerfully looking at the crates of supplies and provisions stacked together.

"Except for Lance," Keith said cheekily looking around the hanger for the blue paladin.

"I don't blame him, he and Shiro are basically in the honeymoon phase of their bonding right now," Hunk commented as they walked out of Yellow to stand in the hanger.

"I know, its weird though isn't it?" Pidge asked. Hunk raised a brow at her in question.

"Him not being the clingy one," She clarified. Before Hunk could answer her the hanger doors slid open and Lance and Shiro walked out and towards them. Lance was staring straight ahead, while Shiro trailed behind him, puppy eyes targeted towards him.

"Can't you stay on the ship? We could send Keith or Pidge with Hunk?" Shiro's suggestion met their ears and they sent a playful smirk towards Lance. He sighed but didn't look annoyed towards the leader. He knew that he was just being protective of him. They stopped beside the three of them and Lance turned to Shiro with a fond look on his face but you could see the determination in his eyes.

"Babe, as much as I love you fawning over me like this; I'm still a paladin of Voltron and I still have to complete missions," he sighed.

"Yes, but," Shiro tried to intervene but Lance stopped him by pressing a finger to his lips.

"Nope, besides its just a supply run mission, what could possibly go wrong?" he asked smoothing his palm down the side of Shiro's face. He pouted at him but pressed his cheek into the hand.

"Alright, we'll be on standby until the two of you get back, call if you need anything," he relented holding both of his hands in his own.

"Okay, I'll be back soon," Lance promised before dragging the man down and pecking him on the lips. He turned and hurried into the lion after Hunk. Keith, Pidge, and Shiro waved at the lion as it shot down the tunnel towards the exit.

"Let's go," Pidge grunted dragging Shiro in the direction of the bridge.

"I'm coming," he laughed letting her drag him away by the sleeve.

______________________________________________________

"Wow," Lance breathed watching the scenery unfold in front of them. He leaned over the back of Hunk's chair to look at the sparkling blue water fly underneath them.

"They didn't tell us it would be so pretty," Hunk said amazed. In the distance, they could see the city coming closer. At first glance it looked like an ordinary city, houses and building lined up on streets, but as they got closer they noticed an enormous temple towering behind the city in the distance.

"Whoa, what the heck is that?" Lance asked staring at the structure.

"Maybe they worship Gods? Like in Greece and stuff?" Hunk suggested. Lance shrugged and leaned back.

"Oh hey, look," Hunk said drawing his attention back over. He could see several little figures waving at the lion as they drew nearer. In fact it looked like a line of them, leading them into the centre of the city.

"I guess we know where we're landing," they followed the line and ended up closer to the end of the city in front of the temple. Carefully, Hunk touched down and opened Yellow's jaw to allow the locals to begin unloading the supplies in it's mouth. As they walked past the supplies they each picked up a crate and carried it out. Hunk hefted one up and walked out, while Lance tried to find one that wouldn't be too wide for his arms.

"Yellow Paladin! I am Pyro," One of them came up to him cheerfully. By the shiny headpiece on him, he assumed that he was the leader. He came up to Hunk and gave him a small bow. Hunk's feathers ruffled up slightly in embarrassment because of the greeting but gave him a small nod and smile.

"Thank you so much for these supplies, I don't know how much longer we would have lasted without them," he said gratefully. Hunk flushed when he realized that the alien was unabashedly staring at his wings.

"Um, are you okay?" He asked the leader hesitantly. At that Pyro's eyes snapped back to Hunk's and he gave him a wide smile.

"Yes, I apologize. On this planet, beings with wings are a symbol of divinity," he explained.

"Oh, wow, it's completely normal on Earth that people have wings,"

"Incredible," he said amazed. "Where is your partner? I thought there was going to be two of you," he asked looking around in confusion.

"Oh, Lance was grabbing crates, I thought he would be out by now though," he said scratching the back of his head. He looked back towards Yellow and his eyes widened in shock. Two of the locals were dragging a limp Lance out of the lion by his arms, he could see his wings twitching and there was a shiny crystal wrapping around all four of them at the base.

"Lance!" He cried running forward, Pyro following behind him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Pyro yelled enraged at the two aliens.

"Leader, look at this," one of them said, he lifted the top two away to part from the bottom two. At this, he gasped and slammed a hand on Hunk's shoulder stopping him in his tracks with a grunt.

"He's been corrupted," he stated panicked pulling Hunk away from Lance.

"What? No, what are you talking about?" Hunk asked but was ignored by Pyro.

"Bring him up to the temple we will purify him," he commanded the two. They nodded and turned towards the marble stairs.

"Wait no! What are you doing!" Hunk lashed out, concerned for his friend. Pyro turned to him, pity shining in his eyes.

"Oh dear, he has corrupted you as well, you must be separated," he said gently. Hunk's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and went to defend him further but before he could get a word out, a hand snuck out from behind him and sprayed a gas in his face. Immediately his eyes started slipping closed, even as he stumbled forward in an attempt to get to his friend. Through the fog in his mind, he could see that Lance was being dragged up the marble staircase.

"Take good care of him, he is one of our saviours," he heard Pyro's voice say before everything went completely black.

______________________________________________________

With a loud yell, Hunk sat up on the soft bed he was laying on.

"Yellow Paladin," a soft voice said beside him. He glanced to the side and saw one of the aliens standing beside the bed.

"Where am I? Where's Lance?" He demanded standing up grabbing the aliens by the arms.

"You are in our healing building," the alien said kindly. "I believe Lance is the one who has been corrupted, he is at the temple being purified,"

"What? How long have I been asleep?" He asked panicked. He looked out the window but it didn't look like much time had passed since they arrived on the planet.

"It's been a few dobashes since you've been brought here, our gases only last a short time, we believe in diplomacy over warfare so we have no need for weapons," she explained with a small smile.

"Yet you drag away one of the paladins of Voltron?" Hunk asked incredulously. Her face hardened slightly before she sighed.

"Your paladin has been corrupted and needs to be purified,"

"What do you mean corrupted?"

"As you know being that have been gifted with wings are seen as a symbol of divinity," Hunk nodded his head, Pyro had explained that to him.

"However, when a being has four wings they have obviously been affected by greed and have gone to evil beings to gain more than they have been gifted with," she said with a small grimace on her face.

"These beings have been corrupted by evil and must be purified as soon as possible,"

"Purified?" Hunk asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know but Lance was probably depending on him right now.

"In order to purify them, they must cut off the wings of the affected, when that has been done, they see the errors of their ways and they are cured of their greed," she said with a small. Hunk's eyes widened in horror as he stared at her. At that moment, all he wanted was to call the Castle but he knew that if he did so, this alien would probably alert whoever had Lance.

"I think I understand," Hunk said instead. The alien gave him a beaming smile in return, how could she be smiling when Lance could be losing his newly found freedom.

"I'm sorry but could you leave me alone for now, I have a lot to process,"

"Oh, yes, of course!" She said a blush on her face. She hurriedly left the room, sending a single glance back before she shut the door behind her. As soon as he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, he snatched his helmet off the table beside the bed and opened the coms.

"Guys, you need to get down here now," he said urgently, not wasting his time on a greeting.

"What? What's happening?" Pidge's voice asked. He heard shuffling around, he assumed it was the others shoving their helmets onto their heads.

"Are you guys alright?" Keith asked.

"No, you guys need to come down here, Lance is in danger," he cried clapping his hands to the sides of his helmet.

"Whats happening?" Shiro demanded.

"They believe that people with four wings are evil, they trying to purify him! They're going to cut off his wings! They won't let me out, I can't get to him," he sobbed in panic.

"We're on our way Hunk!" Pidge called, he could hear their rapid footsteps and slipped down to the floor.

"Please hurry, I don't know how long he has,"

______________________________________________________

He didn't really remember how he got here. All that he can really recall is a sweet smell and then nothing. He blearily blinked open his eyes and realized that he was staring at the ground. He shivered and realized that he had been stripped down to the waist and his helmet was gone. When he lifted his head slightly, all he could see was a clear sky.

A white cloth was cutting into the sides of his mouth, condemning him to silence. Thick binds kept him painfully kneeling on the hard floor with his wrists attached close to the ground.

"Blue Paladin, you're awake," Pyro said walking in front of him. He gave him a smile filled with pity and knelt on the ground in front of him.

"Don't worry, we are going to save you," he reassured him. He looked behind him and nodded his head. Hands grabbed at his wings, pulling feathers out in the process and spreading them out wide, away from each other. Although he didn't want to hurt them, he allowed his feathers to change into razors but unlike the panic he thought there would be, nothing happened. He looked to the side and saw one of the aliens holding his wing with crystal coated hands.

"Be calm, you have saved us, now it is our turn to save you," Pyro said kindly. Lance shook his head frantically. He tried to pull his wings back toward him but the hold on them was too strong. His attention was pulled away when Pyro dumped a bucket full of what seemed to be water on top of his head. He coughed out through the cloth and looked up at him.

"Let's begin," he smiled. Lance's eyes widened as he opened a book and lead the five aliens into a chant around him. After every few lines, Pyro would splash more water on him. The first time was cold enough, but by the fifth wave of water, he was trembling violently. Frustrated tears started cutting through the water as he tried to tug his arms up to hug himself for warmth. It felt like hours had gone by before, Pyro closed the book he was holding and looked down at Lance with some sort of sympathy.

"You are here today in our sacred temple for disgracing the gift you were given," Pyro started.

Gift? What gift? His wings?

"For your greed, we must now take away the gifts you have been given, only then with you be cleansed," he continued, either not noticing or ignoring Lance's panic.

Greed!? All he's ever wanted was to just be accepted!

"Nonus, stretch out his wing, it's time to begin," he stated, from his belt he pulled a long serrated blade. At the sight, Lance started pulling at the binds attaching himself to the floor.

"I apologize Blue Paladin, this will hurt," he said somewhat soothingly, smoothing his hand through Lance's hair. Of course, this didn't deter Lance and he kept lashing out at them. He felt a slight give in the hold on his left top wing and ripped it out of the hands. He used the now free wing to hit the bottom left alien and again until there was nothing keeping him captive. In his panic he forgot that he was still bound at the hands and tried to take off; only succeeding in making it a few inches off the ground before he snapped back to the ground. He groaned in pain and tugged at his wrists frantically, terrified tears in his eyes.

"We are losing him," Pyro said. The aliens ran forward and grabbed his wings again, forcing them further apart. They pushed him to lay face first on the ground, smushing his cheek into the cold marble. The back two aliens kneeled on top of his legs, and the top two kneel on his biceps and shoulders. Pyro came forward again, making Lance let out a muffled sob against the gag. Terror gripped his heart when a new hand gripped his wing close to the base and a blade was pushed against his feathers.

"Not to worry Blue Paladin, you will be pure again soon," Pyro tried. Lance only shook his head, tears rolling down his cheeks to drop onto the floor and soak into the gag. Lance squeezed his eyes closed, not wanting to see his wing fall to the ground, and waited for the pain to come.

It never did.

A loud angry shriek echoed through the temple before Pyro was launched away from Lance's body and down the stairs of the temple stairs with a yell. His eyes snapped open and saw a very familiar boot standing beside his face. A glance upwards was all it took for him to burst into tears again. This time, happy ones.

"Black Paladin? What are you doing? We are purifying him right now," one of the aliens tried to explain, not yet letting go of Lance's wing. Shiro glared down at him and eyed the crystals that were holding onto the blue feathers.

"Let go of him," he growled. He stared at each one of them. They glanced warily at him and each other.

"But, we were just-" they tried again before getting cut off by a furious paladin.

"I SAID LET GO OF HIM!" He roared. They quickly scrambled away from the two of them to follow their leader down the stairs. Shiro didn't look away until they were gone for sure. In the new silence, it was easy to hear the sobs coming from the ground. His heart squeezed in pain as he sunk to the ground and cut the binds with his galra arm. He dragged Lance into his lap and gently undid the gag and threw it away.

"Are you okay, Lance?" He asked quietly, not worried about the locals anymore. Lance didn't say anything, only pushed his head into the crook of his neck and bawled. He took big gulping breathes of air as he tried to control his breathing.

"Did you get him?" Keith's voice came across the coms.

"Yes, we're heading back now," Shiro confirmed and carefully picked Lance up, "Hunk?" He asked as he began making his way down the stairs.

"We have him, he won't stop crying though," Pidge responded.

"We got Lance's armour and helmet too, they brought them back down here," Keith added.

Shiro smiled slightly but a sad wail from Lance knocked it right off of his face. He gave a comforting little chirp and smiled slightly when Lance responded with a quiet trill.

"You're safe Lance, I've got you, love," he whispered.

______________________________________________________

By the time Lance and Shiro arrived back at the Castle. Lance had calmed down enough to walk out on his own. Granted he was still shaking slightly, but considering he was splashed with freezing cold water and almost had his wings cut off, he had the right.

"Lance!" Hunk cried running towards the teen. Lance chuckled and opened his arms, letting Hunk crash into them.

"Hey Hunk, are you okay?" He asked concerned looking over him for any injuries. He looked at him in disbelief.

"Am I okay!? What about you? I heard what they were going to do, I-I couldn't do anything," he wailed clutching Lance to his chest tightly. Tears were rolling down his face in rivers and loud sobs heaved out of his chest.

"It's not your fault Hunk," Lance said softly, wrapping his arms around him.

"Did they hurt you anywhere?" Keith asked stepping up beside them.

"Besides splashing some cold water on me? No, I'm fine," he stated rubbing his hands up and down Hunk's back.

"I just want to go to sleep now," he admitted. They glanced at each other and smiled.

"Sleepover in the nest?"Pidge suggested. They all nodded in agreement and Hunk untangled himself from around Lance. He sniffed and wiped the tears away from his face.

"I'll go get some snacks," he said running off.

"Blankets and pillows?" Pidge asked looking at Keith. He nodded and they turned away to go collect them.

"What should we bring?" Shiro asked, his hand making its way to Lance's waist. Pidge turned and started walking backward.

"Yourselves, just relax, we got this," she yelled back before they disappeared through the metal doors. After a few moments of silence, Lance turned to look up at Shiro.

"Thank you for rescuing me Shiro," he said earnestly. Shiro smiled softly at him and kissed him on the top of the head.

"You don't have to thank me for that, I would do anything for you,"