Tony

He getting increasingly angry. Tony looks at his watch again and then at the dark house he's standing in front of. He looks up at the sky and it's starting to lighten. The sun is about to rise and he hasn't found anything for Lance.

Brent knew he was coming, Tony clenches his jaw and his fists and starts pacing. Where the fuck is he? Where did he go? Is he doing something related to his brother and that damn lion?

He rolls his neck and growls. He's lost. This situation is so far over his head. Lance was dead. They told them he was dead. It was related to that damn Lion. Maybe they never said it outright but everyone knew.

But they lied. Lance is very alive. Alive and saying fantastical things, things Tony couldn't even imagine because he never had much of an imagination. Flying lions, a robot called Voltron.

Galrans who want to ravage the universe.

An alien enemy.

Tony sighs thinking about Keith and everything he yells when he starts to get impatient they aren't doing anything to get the lions. Get the lions. Garrison isn't going to let them near the lions. Garrison is not going to give them up, the Lions are weapons.

Weapons that need if their is an enemy out there past the known space Earth's explored. Tony shudders. He believed but now he's realizing it was in an abstract way because he never thought he'd KNOW it was true.

Aliens are out there.

Sound of a car pulls Tony out of his thoughts and he huffs in relief as Brent's truck pulls into the driveway. He walks right over and is nearly in Brent's space when he gets out of the truck.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"You're lucky I'm here at all."

"What the hell does that mean?" Tony yells his head turning toward Brent's house.

"It means I was going to try to stand you up… but…" Brent sighs. "You're a good guy Tony you deserve to know what's up and how it concerns your brother."

A wave of fear washes through him, his heart is in his throat and he doesn't know what to do with his body. He steps back a few paces but keeps his eyes on Brent.

"What do you know about my brother?"

"I know he took off in that Blue Lion, he took off and flew past known space."

He feels like an anvil slammed into his stomach. It's true. It confirms all the crazy that has been coming out of Lance's mouth. Tony was believing him but it only because he knew what his little brother sounded like when he lied. Lance believed the truth of everything he was saying. So he believed his little brother, but it was abstract. It was abstract. He didn't know how to deal with something abstract becoming firm reality.

"Known space?" he echoes.

"Garrison was able to track them all the way to Kerberos and then they vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Yeah, well, until yesterday morning when the Blue Lion along with a Red one crashed onto the planet in the desert. We went from one unknown alien spacecraft to two in a blink of an eye. Garrison is scrambling."

Tony can only listen, he can't form words.

"Garrison wants those machines, Tony. They got out to Kerberos in less than a minute then they disappeared off our scanners. Way past what we know…there are aliens and the Garrison wants those Lions."

Tony sees Keith and Lance's faces as they talk about the Lions. Keith insistence they save them — save ships? Keith knows, he gets that Garrison is going to use these ships, these Lions and it's personal to Keith not to let him. Lance too, Tony runs a hand down his face in worry. Lance isn't as loud but he nods when Keith shouts, even as he tries to calm the other guy down. Lance agrees, it's personal to him too.

"Tony? You with me?" Brent asks.

"I just… a lot to take in."

"Yeah, but there is… There is still the reason I decided to show up."

"What's that?" Tony snaps, his anger rising again before he even knows why.

"Look, Tony, I'm just the messenger here, okay?"

Tony narrows his eyes.

Brent nervously runs his hands through his hair and Tony is about to shout at him to just tell him already when Brent pulls out his phone. He opens it up and presses a few buttons. Then silently hands it over to him. Tony snatches the phone and looks at, his jaw clenching.

It's satellite footage, zoomed on the Blue Lion. It's crumbled on the ground, in the middle of crater. It obvious its the Lion itself that created it. It's monstrous. The Lion is huge and before when he saw the footage he detached, he didn't buy it completely as real but now he does.. Tony's feels the truth of it and he can't help but be in awe of the lion. It's size, it's shape, it's very existence.

It's a lion. But it's alien. That question starts to loops in his head.

Movement on the video pulls him out of his head. His heart starts to pound again. Lance climbs out of the lion, Tony presses his lips together. His brother is on this screen, they have footage of Lance.

"No." Tony whispers.

"They said they were dead because they didn't expect them to come back. They really didn't know, and they couldn't let the world know three kids from the Academy took off in an alien ship into an area of space we've never explored."

Tony swallows, watching his brother on the tape. It's obvious he's hurt but he sees Lance striding forward anyway. A surge of pride and then the worry smacks him again.

"Are are they looking for…. "

"Of course. But they vanished."

"They?" He feigns surprise.

"Guy in the Red Lion…. From what I've heard they've identified him as Keith Kogane, of all people."

"Huh? What?" Tony's brain is spinning, he looks at the phone again but the video has stopped. "Lance…" he trails not knowing what he wants to ask.

"You haven't heard from have you?" Brent sounds too suspicious and Tony glares at him.

"No."

"But if you do… You gotta call it in, man."

"No, I don't." He snaps.

"Tony, listen. This is big. This is Alien! Garrison has to debrief them, and they might need them to make the things work. Tech person they called in to deal with the Lions to get them working…. Scuttlebutt is they don't have a fucking clue. I thought you might get called in to pilot, but if they can't even start the Lions up it's pointless right. The longer it takes them to figure the ships out, the more Garrison needs your brother and Kogane."

"They won't want to admit they screwed up saying my brother was dead either, now do they…" Tony spits out.

"Tony."

"No, YOU look. I don't know where he is, Brent. I'm probably the last person Lance would trust — you know how he and I are. But there is no way I turn in my own brother."

"Tony that'd be treason. Do you get it?"

"Then let me burn… I gotta, I gotta get back to family."

Brent grabs him by his arm.

Tony shoves him off of him.

"Dude…dude… you can't tell anyone."

Tony huffs. "Secrets safe, asshole. I can't tell my family any of this, I know that and there no one else to tell."

"Are you…"

"What?"

"Going to look for him?"

"No. I get a feeling him being missing is the best thing for Lance."

"Tony."

"Shut up, Brent. Thanks, I owe you one."

"Yeah, you do."

Tony shrugs and turns around. He walks to his car, he's sweaty and his heart feels like it's in his ears. It's like his brain is pulsing. He has to sit for a minute in the car. He leans his head against the steering wheel and just starts counting in his head in both English and Spanish to try to calm down. But it doesn't work.

"They're screwed. I'm screwed."

Billie

Isabel.

Isabel.

Only two people call her Isabel. Her father and Mira Taylor. Her ex-fiance's mother. A second mother to her, a second mother she gave up when she ended her relationship with Tony. She misses Mira, she could call her after a bad day, she could turn to her when she needed grounding, when she needed to feel care for.

In some ways she misses her more than she ever does Tony.

The Taylor's are going through hell. She knows that, she knows that Lance's death has to be stabbing them all. The family is so close, she's wondered about Tony more than once and her heart has broken every time she thought of Mira and Mac.

She should have called and offered her condolences.

"Mira… I…. Do you need something? I'll do anything?" It's guilt and it's another rush of pain, remembering how it felt when she saw the report on Lance's death.

"I do, I do, Mija…" There is a long pause and Billie almost breaks it but Mira speaks again. "I'm at your house, and a neighbor apparently called the cops not realizing we have your permission."

"What?" Billie blinks what Mira said not processing at all. It was a strange sentence wasn't it? She shakes her head.

"I need you to tell the police it's okay we're here."

"I… Mira, I'm confused."

"I know, I know…I'm sorry, I don't know which neighbor it was. I'll bring them some soup to apologize for scaring them."

"Mira…" she's scrambling to understand.

"It's the extended family… everyone is coming for the memorial. So many people love…loved… Lance."

Billie's heart clenches as Mira catches herself speaking in present tense. Lance isn't present tense. She blinks furiously trying to stave off tears, but she's starting to understand what Mira is saying.

"OH. Yes, yes of course use the apartment for family. Please do." It's the least she can do.

"Thank you, so you'll tell the police we were given your permission."

"Of course, anything, fill the house up with everyone…" she says not really listening as her worry for the family rises. "How, how is Tony?" she allows herself to ask it.

"As to be expected…Isabel."

"Right, right…" she sighs. "Me too."

"Oh, Mija… it's okay…. We have each other."

Billie nods forgetting she's on the phone.

"I'm going to hand you over to Officer Lucas," Mira says.

Billie blinks and then remembers Mira mentioning cops and her understanding of this conversation finds fruition just as a male voice speaks into her ear.

"Ms. Isabel Hart."

"Dr. Billie…Isabel Hart, yes… sorry call me Billie."

"Yes, ma'am. Really all I need to know is it's okay for the Taylor's to be using your home. We are compassionate for their situation, but this is your home."

"They are welcome, I told Tony it would be fine."

"Tony?"

"Their son, we were engaged and he asked me since he knows with me being out of the country…" she trails off, knowing she just lied about her whereabouts.

"Okay, ma'am. We will tell the neighbors that it wasn't a break in and leave the Taylor's to their grief."

"Thank you."

"I'll give Mrs. Taylor back the phone."

"Isabel?"

"Yes, I hope everything is good now. I'm sorry I have nice neighbors I guess…" laughs a bit hysterically.

"It's not your fault at all, Isabel… Thank you for this."

"Anytime, you know that."

"I hope you are enjoying your travels and the work is good."

Billie looks at the computer read outs from Blue Lion. "It's all rather daunting but I'm hoping to be up to the challenge."

"I'm sure you will."

"Mira… I." Billie inhales. "I miss him, I loved him — I mean. Lance was… well Lance." She smiles remembering him flirting with her and pissing off Tony.

"Yes, yes my son is… was."

"I am here for anything else, truly."

"Thank you but I have wasted enough of your time."

"It wasn't a bother."

"Goodbye, sweetheart."

"Bye."

Billie finds a chair and sits. Her mind full of grief, for Lance, for the family. She meant it. She'd do anything for the Taylor's.