A/N: Sorry to make the real chapter 4 disappear! I was playing with the import/export thing, and poof, chapter 4 is chapter 1!

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/GT

Tomorrow Waits for Us

Chapter 4

Trunks fell asleep again with Pan's slight weight on his chest. The emotional drain of his catharsis combined with his general exhaustion weighed him down into a deep sleep. For a time, black oblivion was all that he experienced.

Soon, though, the dreams came.

He saw a blue sky, clear in all directions. The wind was calm, and he was flying far above the ground.

"Hey Trunks!" A child's voice called to him. He looked to the right and saw a young Goten flying beside him. "When are we going to see the Buu-monster?"

"I don't know, Goten," came Trunks' surly reply. "I can feel big sources of energy all over. It feels like there's fighting going on in more than one place." As he spoke, some seagulls were flying quickly toward them. Their cries were eerie.

"Look...birdies!" little Goten said. He frowned with comical-looking seriousness. "They sound scared."

Little Trunks looked at the seagulls. "I don't know what scared birds sound like." He sat cross-legged in the air. "If they're scared, maybe it was the Buu-monster that scared them...let's go that way, Goten."

The background in the dream changed, and he was looking over the edge of a cliff. His dad was far below in a desolate valley. The Saiyan Prince was covered in blood and his fighting outfit was torn, but he had a confident grin on his face. There was a tattoo on his forehead in the shape of an "M", and a golden aura blazed around him.

The fat pink creature across from him was dancing in rage, lookingcompletely out of place fighting with an ascended Super-Saiyan. "Me no like you! You make Buu mad!"Buu shrieked ina high pitched, childish voice as steam blew out of the holes in his head, emphasizing his frustration.

"What a peculiar creature," Vegeta said in a slow drawl, as he lifted his hand and pointed two fingers toward Buu. His aura flared momentarily as he powered up, and an intense blast shot from his fingers right through Buu's middle. Buu fell flat on his face.

Buu got up after a moment, and filled the gaping hole in his middle. He looked murderously toward Vegeta.

"ME MAD NOW!" Buu said with horrible intensity, and a hellish light started eminating from his useless looking form. A huge blast of power exploded from Buu's pink body, consuming everything in a large radius, including Vegeta.

The dream shifted again, and Trunks was standing on white tiles, surrounded by palm trees and open sky. He was looking across at Goten. Goten nodded to him.

"Fu - sion...HA!" The both said in unison, as they performed the strange Metamarese dance. Just as their voices blended together, their bodies merged, binding together with mystical energy. They became one being: Gotenks.

"You're all afraid of Buu, but Buu is nothing." Gotenks said in that strange blended voice. "We will bring him back...dead."

The dream shifted again. Goku stood before him, and Goten was on his right. Goku was powering up, showing them the power that they had felt earlier, when Goku had fought with Buu.

As he was reaching the limits of Super-Saiyan level two, his hair was starting to lengthen and body began twisting in odd ways to accommodate the higher power. "The power must come from deep within..." Goku was saying.

Trunks woke with a start.

What a dream...Trunks thought to himself. He glanced at the clock by his bed. It read 7:17 in red digital numbers. As he was getting his bearings, he noticed that Pan was gone. The party must have started already.

He stared at the ceiling. He didn't feel the usual bitterness and self-loathing that usually came with his dreams of Buu. This one wasn't so bad...it was almost as if the dream was trying to tell me something.

He thought about the dream, teasing out possible meanings. He might have thought that he was simply remembering the past, but the scenes seemed too deliberately chosen. After a moment of pondering, his eyes opened wide in realization.

I can't defeat Buu as I am now. I have to cross the barrier and become level three, or even four...

Trunks had often wondered if he had the ability to reach level three, but he'd never been a position to need it. As part of the Gotenks fusion he had reached that level, but never as himself.

Alright, Buu. I accept your challenge. Trunks got up from his bed, feeling a bit disoriented as he did so, and walked to the bathroom. He washed his face in the sink and as he glanced in the mirror, he noticed that the haunted look that was usually there was gone. Let's see what's possible...but not here. I'd disturb everyone at the party.

Trunks thought about it, and decided that splitting a continent in half wasn't on his list of desirable things to do. The ocean is only half an hour flying distance from here. It's likely that there wouldn't be any witnesses, either.

Trunks flew out his window, quickly reaching top speed. He didn't notice Pan walking into his room as he left, or feel the dark eyes that watched him go.

Trunks reached the western coast faster than he anticipated. He had been pushing, but had chosen not to go super on the off-chance that he would be spotted. He was mulling the problems ahead of him, so he hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going. As he stared at the beach, he realized that if he was successful, that it might create a tidal wave. That's no good. I'm not Oceanus Shenron.

He decided to go further out. Ironically, he realized that he was close to Master Roshi's Island. History repeats itself, I suppose, Trunks though wryly. Goku had been at Master Roshi's when he had committed himself to go above the level of Super-Saiyan. His decision had changed history. Trunks hoped that it was an auspicious omen.

He stopped close to fifty miles out from the shore. This should be about right. He closed his eyes, and mentally searched the surrounding area for life. The search turned up very little. A lot of creatures underwater, a few seagulls...no humans, though. If I do this higher up, the impact on the water should be minimal.

He flew up until he was about two hundred feet above the choppy waves. A storm was brewing in the area, but for Trunks it was like an outward manifestation of his mood. His pulsed raced when he heard the ear-shattering thunder roll across the turbulent sea, and the scream of the wind was no less exhilarating.

Well, here goes nothing. He closed his eyes, and let himself go.

A golden aura flared around him almost immediately as he began to tap into his power. His hair stood on end and he felt the heat-waves of power radiating from his body. As he pushed his power higher, his hair stood up in a more pronounced way, and his muscles started to bulge. As he was reaching his normal limit, he felt a burning within him, and a vague fear of what was next.

Goten and I were able reach a level beyond my dad's because we had no fear, and because there was a genuine need. Goten's need for vengeance and my need to show everyone that we were the best brought us to what everyone thought was the maximum. I have no reason to fear, and every reason to go for this!

And then it happened.

The earth shook with tremors as Trunks went beyond Super-Saiyan 2. His hair slowly extended down his back, and his form shifted and bulged, yielding greater muscle structure and stronger bones. A feral consciousness awakened within Trunks, and his senses sharpened as his form became more bestial.

He was the calm within the whirlwind as the transformation continued. The storm raged even more fiercely around him, the elements disrupted by the massive power that he was expressing. When the transformation was complete, the sea calmed around him.

He wasn't done yet.

He deliberately opened the door in his mind to the memory of when he was Gotenks, and had escaped the Hyperbolic Time chamber. He tasted the fiery hatred and the sickening grief of finding out that Buu had killed his mother. He let the pain and anger flood through him unchecked, and the tears followed freely from his eyes. He screamed his rage and anguish to the skies. His power skyrocketed in response, and he felt himself reaching powers beyond what he had tapped as Gotenks.

He gently let out the breath he had been holding. This will be enough for now. He felt a deep peace wash over him. He'd done it! He'd reached the next level. He let his power fade down to normal Super-Saiyan 3, but didn't power down below that. He wanted to see how exhausting it would be to hold his transformation.

As he was trying to catch his breath from his exertion, he noticed that it was raining heavily now. The fresh scent of the rain mixed with the salty smell of the sea relaxed him. An odd scent came to his nose, one that he might not have noticed without the heightened senses that his transformation granted him. It was the faint smell of shampoo…the type a girl might use.

"Hello, Pan." Trunks said calmly, in a husky voice caused by his new form.

"Trunks..." She stammered. "Are you ok?"

Trunks opened his eyes to see her looking at him with a strange mix of wonder and apprehension. He also noted that she was soaked to the skin and shivering a bit. He smiled slightly. "You have no idea. But you shouldn't be out here...you want me to fly you home?"

Pan was obviously uncomfortable, but she shook her head. "You can't go anywhere like that, Trunks. I'm sure your dad is pulling his hair out right now trying to figure out where all that power is coming from."

Trunks chuckled softly. "Sorry. I forgot about that." He let his power level go back to normal, and he felt his body reassume it's old shape. The cold from his wet clothing soaked into his skin almost immediately. I bet she's a lot colder. He frowned in worry. I don't have anything dry to put around her. He moved closer to Pan, but she flinched back from him.

He looked into her eyes, trying to fathom what was wrong. Depthless black mirrors regarded him. Her eyes are usually so expressive...why would she hide things from me?

"Pan, what's wrong?"

She regarded him with an unreadable expression. "Why did you do it?" She said finally, shivering even more violently.

"What do you mean, Pan?" He looked at her pleadingly. "We have to get you out of the rain! You'll be sick for sure if don't get you warm…"

"DON'T BE AN IDIOT!" She screamed at him, tears bursting from her eyes. "You're leaving us, aren't you! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"

Trunks tried to fly closer to her, but she flew backward, keeping the same distance between them.

"ANSWER ME!" She screamed at him.

"I don't want to go…" Trunks said softly. The downpour had faded into a fine mist, and surprisingly Pan was able to hear his answer.

"What…?" Pan said just as softly in response.

"I don't want to leave," Trunks responded quietly. "But they need us. Gohan shouldn't have to do this. Neither should my dad. Goku's gone. That leaves me."

Pan sobbed. "Why does it have to be you! Why can't it be someone else! Goten should do it! He didn't help us with the Black Star Dragonballs!"

"Shh…" Trunks said soothingly, carefully flying over to her. "Goten can't do it alone. Only you and I have ever hunted the Black Star Dragonballs. One of us has to go."

Pan flew into his arms. "It's still not fair." She said, he voice muffled against his chest. Trunks held her close, hoping some of his body heat was getting to her. She's so cold…I have to get her back.

"C'mon. Let's go back to my house. It's closer than yours, and your parents are probably there anyway." Trunks felt Pan's nod more than saw it.

Almost an hour later, Trunks flew back into his bedroom. He reflexively glanced at his clock. 8:56.

Pan was dead asleep in his arms, but seemed warmer. She' fallen asleep on their return trip after he had offered to have her ride on his back.

He didn't want to wake her, so a bath was out of the question. It's too bad. I'm sure it would have helped. He settled for stripping her out of her wet clothing.He blushed as he saw almost all of her body exposed, but was concerned that she was still cold and clammy. He put her on the unused side of his bed, and covered her with several blankets.

After that, he noticed that he was shaking as well. The transformation must have been more draining than I thought. I'd better go eat something…and I can bring some hot chocolate back for Pan.

As he left his room, he felt a sudden and unexplainable apprehension. As he reached the kitchen, he knew why.

Vegeta was enjoying what he would consider a light snack, but most other people would consider a large dinner. His dark, piercing eyes regarded his son with a measuring stare. "Had a busy day, did we?" Vegeta said conversionally, but with an undertone of menace.