A/N: My First Dragonball GT Story! I've re-written the beginning of this, as I did not have the required source material when I started this(in other words, I hadn't seen the final episodes at the time). Hopefully I can smooth out the inconsistancies.

After I get done editing this, expect new chapters. :)

Special thanks go to Marron Babe and the Noseless Wonder and for the inspiration for this, and LauraNeatO for encouraging me and helping me with some of the editing.

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/GT and this is not for profit.

Tomorrow Waits for Us

By Mystic Dragon

Trunks was was having a bad day.

Granted, no day in which you have to go to work is a good one, but being CEO of Capsule Corporation was providing special trials for the lavender-haired Saiyan today.

Trunks stared out his window, trying not to think about the mountain of paperwork on his desk. Dad thinks I'm being lazy because I'm not training lately, but where am I supposed to find the time? He shuddered at the harsh tone and unforgiving eyes that Vegeta was famous for.

"What will you do if something happens?" The Phantom Vegeta scolded him in his head. "A true warrior stays fit and ready, even in times of peace." He could picture his dad, scowling. "I can't believe that Kakarot's short tempered granddaughter seems to have more fighting spirit than you!"

Trunks smiled as he thought of Pan beating Goten in the World Martial Arts Tournament ten years after the fight with Majin Buu. Goten had really let himself go, Trunks smirked to himself. It's hard to believe that we almost beat Buu when we fused into Gotenks. He remembered how much fun it had been to get the best of the irritable pink demon with their super-ghost kamikaze-attack, but he still had nightmares about those inhuman ruby-colored eyes.

He stared back at the paperwork in distaste. Why is it that I put all of that effort into getting this place to run itself, and I still end up with all of this to do? He looked away from the mess on his desk, and gazed out his window again. Maybe this is a good time to go and train. He frowned to himself as he considered the nearly perfect conditions outside. It was too nice a day to be training in Vegeta's stuffy gravity capsule. He brightened when he remembered that an off-hand comment to his mom about that exact problem had gotten her to put her thinking cap on a few weeks ago. She should be about done with the outdoor training area. I'll go see her and find out.

Trunks hit the intercom button. "Stacy?"

"Yes, sir?" Came the polite voice of his personal secretary.

"I'm leaving in the next half hour. Let the Department Managers know that if they have anything important that requires my attention, they need to come see me."

He could hear a sigh on the other end. "Yes, sir. Would you like me to have someone process the paperwork you have left?"

Trunks groaned inwardly. He knew that Stacy hated when he left early, but what did she expect? He'd been trapped in his office for the last ten days. He reminded himself not to be harsh with her, as Stacy had been putting in a lot of extra time herself.

"Yes, that would be great," he said, ignoring her displeased tone. He glanced at a clock on one of his bookshelves. It was just after eleven. "And Stacy..."

There was a cautious pause at the other end. "Yes, sir?"

"Feel free to go to lunch after you're done calling them."

There was another sigh at the end of the intercom, but this one was of relief. "Thank you, sir."

Trunks leaned back in his chair, now safely able to dismiss the monumental pile of paperwork from his mind. He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It's amazing how things change, he thought to himself. His Grandfather had run Capsule Corp. before him, but he had mostly spent his time inventing things and had others manage the company. The monopoly on the capsule technology had insured an insane income each year.

Since Trunks had taken over, he'd restructured the company and hired trustworthy and hard-working department heads. That had worked well in the beginning, but because of the damage wrought by Super 17 and the Shadow Dragons, Capsule Corp's mission had changed drastically. Most of the company's resources had been funneled into rebuilding West City's public services, and as a result, Trunks and Capule Corp. were now the functional government for most of the western continent. Trunks found that the infrastructure he'd built after Bebi's reign of terror was working well for reorganizing the earth, but even so many items required his personal attention. He sometimes wondered when he would be able to get a handle on it all.

Some people would be thrilled to rule half the world, but I'd rather the King and his government take over again. Trunks grimaced, knowing that it wasn't that simple. If he gave over control of the western continent to the King, Capsule Corp was finished. The previous government had no assets on the order required to adequately compensate Capsule Corp for the work they'd done. The Briefs family was now the unwilling heir to half of the world. On top of that, Trunk figured that it was only a matter of time before the Eastern Continent's government failed.

Trunks put his hands over his face, and yawned in exhaustion. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, he thought melancholically.

His stomach rumbled unpleasantly at him. His work day had started at six, and he'd only had a cup of coffee and a bagel for breakfast. His Saiyan metabolism really bugged him, sometimes. I'll have lunch before I train. Wait, it's Sunday. Mom should still have brunch going on. His thoughts whirled, visions of omelets, blueberry pancakes and bacon flowed pleasantly before his eyes.

There was a sharp knock at his door. "Mr. Briefs?" Came a deceptively lazy voice in a light southern drawl. "Can you spare a moment of your time?"

Trunks frowned at the door and put his glasses back on. What would Branford be doing here? Branford Hughes was the Head of Research and Development for Capsule Corp's main operations. The slightly chubby and amiable looking man only looked and sounded like a country bumpkin. He was one of the shrewdest men Trunks knew, running R&D as if it was the easiest thing in the world. None of the research projects had been stolen since Trunks had hired him, and of his department heads, Trunks saw him the least regarding problems. The fine hairs on his neck stood up.

"Of course, Branford. Come in," Trunks said smoothly, walking around the untidy stacks of paperwork on his desk. "Is Stacy out there?"

"She is," Stacy responded tartly from around the corner.

Trunks smirked at her tone. Stacy was the best secretary he'd had so far, but you had to put up with her attitude sometimes. "Stacy, be a nice girl and go pick up a latte for me and a double expresso for Branford," Trunks said in a slightly mocking tone.

He could almost see her sticking her tongue out at him. "Of course, sir," she said in a falsely neutral tone.

Trunks casually closed the door, and pointed to one of the free chairs in the office. Branford sat down with a deceptive casualness, and Trunks merely leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, unconsciously mirroring Vegeta's usually pose. "I take it this isn't something that I want to hear about?" Trunks said flatly.

Branford dropped his folksy act. "Marron's team had a breakthrough."

Trunks looked at him in shock. Krillin and 18's daughter had grown up, and now led one of the R&D teams at Capsule Corp. Her team was looking into a way to travel across dimensions, at the request of his mother, Bulma. They had long since replicated the time machine that the Bulma and Trunks of the android future had used, however the tests in future travel failed miserably. The past was relatively fixed unless someone went back to change it. The future was another story. After Cell had been defeated and the Trunks of the Future had returned to his own dimension, no one had been able to go there and check on them. His mother was worried about them, and others suggested that someone could go to that dimension and help them get a new Guardian so that the Dragonballs would return.

Trunks tried to pull himself together, but he could feel in his bones that this was going to change everything."Talk to me," Trunks said in a shaky voice.

Branford looked no less uncomfortable with the information he had. "They've created a four-dimensional energy sensor," he began "and while that doesn't sound like much, the existing time machine can use the coordinates that it generates to jump to the desired dimension."

Trunks was floored. I know that mom wanted this, but I didn't think it was possible. Trust Marron to find a way to do it. He smiled at Branford. "That's amazing! Marron has outdone herself!"

Branford looked at the floor, as if wrestling with a problem. "She certainly has. She was the one who tested it, so I know it works..."

The color drained from Trunk's face. "She...she used it in the time machine?"

"Yes, and that's what I'm here for." Branford looked even more unhappy, if that was possible.

Trunks slumped against the wall. 18 would kill me if she knew this. Krillin and 18 had been happy about Marron working there in the beginning, but as she put more and more time into her projects and less into her life, they'd grown more and more upset about it. Trunks hadn't felt that it was his business, so he had encouraged her in her work, and lately had given her bonuses in the form of paid travel and gift certificates to get her out of the office occasionally.

If anything, though, she had thrown herself harder into her work. Now, apparently, she had risked her life to test something that could have landed her in another dimension permanently. What's wrong with her! She could have done it the safe way. It wouldn't have taken that long.

"I'll go have a talk with her before I leave," Trunks said without enthusiasm. "Do you have anything else important scheduled for her team?"

Branford looked into space thoughtfully. "With the time machine more or less done, we don't have any more critical projects for them."

"Good. I'll put Marron on an extended vacation, but I also want her team off for the next four weeks, and their lab area sealed. I don't want any leaks about this. Can it be done?"

Branford looked a bit happier. "Of course. I already shipped the device to your mother, and I'll make sure no one has access to the work area."

"Alright. I'll go talk to Marron." Trunks paused. "What do you want to do about her?"

Branford looked uncomfortable again. "Marron is one of our best scientists, but she doesn't like playing by the rules. I would like her to stay, though, because her team is one of the most well managed that I've ever seen, and as you know, they've produced some of the most important items we have, including the prototype time machine." He shook his head. "I wish I knew what was going on in her head. Only in the last few months has she given me reason to worry."

Trunks sighed. "Don't worry about it, Branford. I'll get her out of the office for awhile, and we can decide if we need to do anything else later." He looked at the clock. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Branford shook his head. "You may want to come test some of the new toys we've made, but nothing earth-shattering."

"Maybe I'll drop by later." Trunks went over to the window, letting his senses drift out past the door. He sighed inwardly in relief. Stacy wasn't outside his door eavesdropping for once. That was another bad habit she had, but Branford's news had been too important for him to keep tabs on her energy while they talked. He let his senses drift out further. There she is. He could sense her in the parking lot. Branford loved expresso, but Stacy loved latte. He considered it a form of apology for all the calls she was going to have to field for the afternoon.

"Stacy's back, so feel free to get your expresso. Tell her the latte is hers." Trunks said as he made his way to the door. "I may be off for a few days, so if you have any emergencies, talk with my mother."

Branford nodded, reassuming his role of nice little country boy. "Enjoy your time off." He said as they walked out of his office.

As Trunks walked toward R&D, he wondered what could be wrong with Marron. The brilliant blonde girl had been a ray of sunshine once, but lately she seemed withdrawn and unhappy. When Trunks had first placed her team in charge of his mother's idea, she seemed to catch fire and blaze with happiness, and that's when she started spending entire nights working on the project.

Trunks was afraid of what he would find when he saw her. She'd been hibernating in the lab for the last few weeks. I guess the signs were there, but I wasn't paying attention.

When he found her lab, it was suspiciously silent. None of her team were around. Of course not. It's Sunday. Only idiots like me or her are here. He smiled at that thought as he placed his right hand on the palm scanner. The indicator light shifted from red to green, and the heavy doors opened. He barely made a sound as he walked through the entryway into the high security lab.

He found Marron peacefully sleeping at her desk, using her left arm as a pillow. He carefully removed her glasses, which she'd forgotten to take off. There was a gentle smile on her face, and she was breathing deeply and evenly. She's like an angel. He thought about how cold 18's beauty was. In Marron, it was softened and warmed, like a dream vision rather than the cold reality her mother seemed to embody. I'll come back later.

Trunks left the R&D area, heading to his living area. More than once, he'd been thankful that he'd had a place to change and shower at work. Important clients and public officials seemed to take great pleasure in "dropping in" on him. After he had showered and put on his favorite teal colored gi, he went back looking for Marron. She was awake this time, but was staring off into space.

"Marron?" Trunks said in a near whisper. He didn't want to startle her.

"Trunks...?" She said in a dreamy fashion. Her eyes were unfocused, and she seemed disoriented. She looked at him with a dreamy sort of longing, then seemed to notice something. "Oh! Hi Trunks!" She said hurriedly, looking away from him, a faint red tingeing her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I was just...well, that is...I guess my mind was somewhere else," She finished lamely.

Trunks frowned inwardly. Why is she babbling? And what was she daydreaming about?

"No, it's ok. I checked on you earlier, but you were asleep."

Trunks watched in amazement as she blushed harder. "I didn't mean to," she said hurriedly. "I swear, I won't slack off like that again..."

"Marron," Trunks said, firmly interrupting her apology. "Branford says that isn't one of your problems. If anything, you've been working too hard." He casually sat on the edge of her desk. "I'll give you the bad news first. I'm disappointed that you risked everything to test the time machine. Did you ever consider how many unhappy people you'd be leaving behind if something went wrong?"

Marron paled at his words. Trunks couldn't tell if it was from shock or anger. Trunks continued in a low voice. "Marron, I don't know why you thought this was more important than your life, but your very existence is a miracle in more ways than one. Your mother could very well have stayed the way she was before, or she could have been infertile due to her non-human origin. My sister would have been devastated if something had gone wrong, not to mention my mom, your parents and all of Goku's family. We all love you."

Marron managed to look guilty and angry at the same time. "Like you ever notice..." he heard her whisper to herself bitterly as she looked down at her desk.

Now it was Trunks' turn to be angry, but he decided to step on his reflex to snap at her. He took a deep breath. "Marron, what's this about? You know that I care about you. We all do. A few months of tests and we would have been sure..."

Marron interrupted him in a shockingly loud voice. "It's been more than TEN YEARS since the time that the other Trunks arrived back in his own dimension!" Marron shouted, and then looked a little shocked at her outburst. She grimaced and spoke in a more normal tone. "It may be too late to help them already."

It was Trunks' turn to be shocked. "What are you talking about, Marron?"

"Majin Buu, you idiot!" She shouted at him. "Babidi showed up only eight years after Gohan beat Cell. You don't think they escaped that just because Dr. Gero's Androids were more successful there, do you?"

Trunks paled. He was by no means an expert on temporal interaction, but her theory seemed sound...It wouldn't be possible for Babidi to awaken Buu in that timeline, would it? He quickly considered the idea, and decided that that it was very possible, even likely that Marron was right. In fact, it was more than puzzling that the other Trunks had managed to jump back after the time when Babidi should have shown up.

I have to lie to her so that she doesn't do anything else rash again until I'm ready to act. How am I ever going to convince her that there's nothing to worry about? Trunks was digging quickly through his mind when he remembered something Gohan had told him after all the madness created by the demented wizard and his monster.

"When the Supreme Kai and I reached the room where Majin Buu's ball was, the indicator only showed about half full of energy. While Shin and I were trying to find a way to get to Buu through Dabura and Babidi, Vegeta and my dad were fighting each other. Babidi had placed a spell on their fight so that the damage dad took would energize Buu. Before we knew it, the indicator showed that Buu had gained enough power from that fight to hatch. We never had a chance at that point. Buu had absorbed all of my power and most of dad's."

Perfect, Trunks thought to himself as he composed his features and put a false face of relief on.

"You're wrong, Marron." He let out a big sigh. "Majin Buu requires all of the energy of two Saiyans capable of Super-Saiyan Level 2 to be released from his ball. Nothing less will do. That does not exist in that dimension."

Marron looked a him sharply. "That much energy was required...?"

Trunks nodded.

Marron looked a bit sheepish. "I guess I still have some bad memories..."

Trunks looked at her reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. You aren't the only one." He paused, putting on a thoughtful expression. "You might have had a premonition, you know."

Marron looked at him sharply again. "What do you mean?"

Trunks mulled over something that had popped into his head when she had mentioned future problems. "Marron, Majin Buu may not be a threat, but what about Dr. Myuu and Bebi? What about all the evil people we stopped while hunting for the Black Star Dragonballs?"

Marron paled again. She swallowed, hard. "Trunks, what if Bebi finds the other you...?"

Trunks turned white as a sheet. His nightmares about Bebi invading his body and mind were worse than anything he dreamed about Majin Buu. If Bebi reaches the other Trunks, that world is done for. Even so, this is the opening I need. Bebi won't be a threat for years in the future, but I can go there and deal with Buu right now, and Marron won't know enough to get herself in more trouble. "If Bebi is there, I have to stop him!" He suddenly thought of something."Did you go there during your test flight?"

Marron unexpectedly blushed. "Yes. I set the ship at the Lookout. Mr. Popo is still there. He verified the events. The space-time detector works." Her voice turned deadly serious. "The room of spirit and time exists there. If anyone needs to train when they get there, they can."

Trunks worked hard not to give away how relieved he was. Good thing she swallowed my bait, He thought to himself. Hopefully she won't figure it out until we get there. Trunks was still sick to his stomach at the thought of Bebi being alive there. I can't do anything about that right now, so no use worrying at it.

Trunks decided that it was time to leave. "It's almost noon, Marron. Would you like to come to my house for brunch? I'm sure Bra will be there." He said in his smoothest manner.

Marron brightened at his words."Sure. Let me get a shower, first."

Trunks smirked at her slept in clothing and mussed hair. "Ok, just don't take all day. Oh, and Marron..."

Yes?" She called over her shoulder on the way to the shower.

"You're amazing."

She blushed. "Quit sweet talking me!"

"I'm not!" He said innocently. "This is the best gift you could give my mom. Thank you."

A peculiar, guilty look crossed her face. She rushed off without another word.

Trunks sat in her chair, staring at the room that had given birth to hope, again. The other Bulma gave us "Hope" in the form of the time machine, he mused siliently. We need to do something to help them. He thought about his Father, the proud Saiyan Prince that he never would have known without his other self's intervention. He thought about Goku, and how empty the world felt without him since he left with Shenron. At least he was around as much as he was. Without the other Trunks, Goku would have died of the heart sickness. He thought about his best friend, Goten, who never existed in the other timeline. And Pan. And Marron, who's mother was a killing machine in the other timeline. The other Trunks had even saved him, from what his mom said, during one of the battles with the androids. That's quite a debt we owe them.

So much changed because of the other Trunks and Bulma. We've fought battles far worse than anything they ever could ever imagine, but we were allowed to live, while their world suffocated under the fists of Androids 17 and 18. They need more than hope. They need a miracle.

He remembered something Goku said to him once, when He and the child-sized Saiyan were searching for the Black Star Dragonballs. Goku had been staring into a pond, lost in thought. Trunks had asked him what he was dwelling on, since the childlike Saiyan was usually as happy-go-lucky as he could get away with unless there was some kind of serious danger.

Goku had looked at him with an unusually thoughtful expression. "Trunks, I've seen a lot of bad things in my life. I've fought monsters that made me sick with how evil they were. But I look at the pond, or I look at the sky, even on another world, and I see that the stains of evil melt away with time. Everyone talks about miracles, and gods, and angels. I've seen all of that. This is the real miracle. Evil doesn't live on. Life does."

He pointed to his chest. "The miracle is here, too." His eyes went unfocused, seeing events in the past. "Oolong, Yamcha, Chaiotzu, Tien, Piccolo, Vegeta, 18, Buu...all of them were once my enemies. The Heart is a funny thing. When you open your heart, miracles happen."

Trunks smiled, missing Goku all over again. It almost seemed like Goku had reached out from wherever he was to lend support to what Trunks wanted to do. Thank you, Goku. You've helped me see with another set of eyes...again.

"I'm ready!" Marron shouted as she ran down the hall.

Trunks shook off his reverie. Let's see what we can do for Marron. Then let's worry about the other problem. "Care for a lift?" Trunks said to the freshly washed Blonde girl.

"No way, you perv! I'll fly myself there!" She said with a smile. "And get out of my chair."