Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ/GT

Chapter 7

Trunks was walking back to the party when he saw a small, brown-skinned boy walking in. "Uub!"

Uub turned around. "Oh! Hi Trunks."

"I wasn't expecting you here, tonight."

Uub blushed. "Your mother insisted."

Trunks chuckled. "I know what that's like." He paused for a moment. "You're just in time. Let me show you the way."

Uub nodded doubtfully. Trunks understood his position. Goku had choosen him as the planet's defender because of his incredible potential- he was after all the reincarnation of Majin Buu. Uub was painfully shy, however.

"It's ok, Uub. No strangers here tonight."

Uub visibly relaxed. "Thanks Trunks. I still can't handle crowds, but your mom wouldn't take no for an answer!"

As Trunks walked back into the atrium, he noticed more people there. He waved to Krillin and nodded politely to 18. Marron was with them, no doubt chatting to them about her work at Capsule Corp. Gohan, Videl and Pan were eating dinner at one of the tables. Chi-Chi and Goten were still browsing through the buffet. Vegeta was, of course, absent but his mom was sipping an ice-cream soda where he'd been previously sitting. Perfect.

Trunks led Uub to the buffet table, and grabbed a glass of champagne. "May I have everyone's attention?"

The quiet buzz of conversation quickly faded away. "I'm glad all of you could be here this evening. I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal this party from you, mom."

Bulma stuck her tongue out at him. Everyone laughed.

"It's been a hard two years." He paused for effect. Faces around the room darkened, and eyes became haunted. "I'm pleased to announce the contents of a report I received today. The last of the damage caused by Li Shenron has been dealt with."

Smiles grew all around the room. Pan cheered.

"This was a monumental effort, and it wouldn't have been possible without the help of all of you. I'd especially like to thank Uub." Uub blushed as all of the attention turned to him. "Without you, a lot of people would have starved."

After the applause for Uub died out, Trunks continued. "Uub wasn't the only one who made a significant contribution to our success. Mom, can you come up here?" Bulma looked surprised, but put her glass down and walked up to the main table. "Mom coordinated almost all of the relief effort, and directed the rebuilding of most of the power plants and water systems in the western continent. I'd like to make a toast, to my mother, for always being there when we need her!"

"Cheers!" Came the resounding cry.

"Thank you, Thank you!" Bulma said graciously. Oddly, Goten stood up.

"If I could steal the floor from you for a minute?" Goten asked hesitantly.

"Of course." Trunks said as he moved aside.

Goten took Trunks' place. "I want to apologize to you, Trunks."

Trunks' jaw dropped. "That isn't necess..."

"Yes it is." Goten cut him off. "I was rude to you when this all started. I couldn't imagine how sitting behind a desk was going to help us. Yet, somehow you brought us all through this."

Goten stared off into space. "You've always been a good planner. You come up with a strategy, and stick with it until the end. That's your strength and your weakness. This time, we're all alive because of you. A toast to Trunks! The real hero of this crisis!"

Trunks flushed at the cheering and clapping that followed. He felt warm all over from their appreciation. After a moment, he shook it off. He slapped Goten on the back in appreciation, and turned back to the crowd.

"Even given the accomplishments so far, someone here has been working harder than any of us. She was given the most difficult and important job, and she came through, not once, but twice. Marron would you come up here?"

The blonde girl left her parents' side and walked up to where Trunks was standing. "Marron, along with some of the best engineers at Capsule Corp., has reconstructed the Time machine that Cell used to come here." There were gasps in among those present, but oddly Krillin and 18 looked the most shocked. I guess she didn't tell them. That's a bit of a surprise. "The original time machine could only make stable trips to the past, but a new prototype that she built has been modified so that it could potentially go anywhere."

"Some of you may be thinking "Why is that so important?" The answer is that if we hadn't been able to repair the damage Li Shenron did, some of us could go back and prevent him from ever being summoned. Marron gave us the possibility of survival, even if everything else went wrong. Let's all show our appreciation for Marron's efforts."

The applause this time had no cheers mixed in. Pan looked subdued, but everyone clapped formally for Marron, and she bowed her head, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you, all. I don't deserve this. All of you have given so much..."

"Nonsense." Bulma interupted her with a gentle smile. "Come with me, dear." She led Marron out of the courtyard so that she could compose herself.

"Anyway, I have one more important annoucement, and then I'll leave you to dinner." Laughter and cheering broke out. "Hey, I'm not THAT bad, am I?"

"Hey! Get to the point, drama queen!" Pan shouted playfully.

"Yeah, Mr. I'm Sooo Important!" Krillin added with a grin.

"Ok. Marron's time machine can go to different dimensions. Marron and I will be leaving in a few days to check on the other Trunks and Bulma from the alternate timeline."

Dead silence greeted Trunks' announcement. Gohan, Goten and 18 looked disturbed. Luckily his mom was out of the room at the time, or she'd have probably said something unladylike. Trunks glanced around the room, and saw Bra, who had apparently arrived during the announcement. She looked stricken.

"That's all I have for tonight. Enjoy yourselves, everyone! Remember that we have enough rooms for anyone who'd like to stay over."

Trunks turned his back on the stunned silence he'd created, casually grabbing a plate and began picking out his dinner choices. The silence slowly returned to muted conversations, and Trunks could almost hear the word "why" being asked in all of the conversations. After he was done filling his plate, he looked over to see whether he could eat with Pan and her parents, but there seemed to be a heated discussion going at their table. When he saw Bra out of the corner of his eye, he decided to go sit with her.

She was leaning against a wall, looking no less stricken than before. "Are you ok, Bra?" Trunks asked.

Her eyes focused on him. "No!" She whispered fiercely, tears in her voice. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Hopefully, the right thing." He responded, beginning to eat.

"You're going to get yourself killed, aren't you!" Bra responded angrily to his utter calm.

"That wasn't what I had in mind."

Bra took a deep breath. "Mom's going to kill you, you know."

"I hope not, but I wouldn't blame her for feeling that way."

"What's wrong with you!"

Trunks sighed. "Can we talk about his later? When we don't have an audience?"

Bra looked around, and noticed that everyone was covertly watching them, with the exception of Gohan and company. "Sorry," She whispered. "What's going on with Pan's family?"

Trunks stole a glance at the still squabbling trio. "Pan's mad at me about the trip. Videl thinks I slept with Pan. Gohan's stuck with two angry women."

Bra blinked, and then laughed. "I'm getting something to eat. Save my spot."

Trunks ate quietly, feeling completely at peace for the first time in years. Despite the chaos his announcement caused, he had no misgivings about what he was going to do. He looked around the room at the odd gathering of people. I'm going to miss them. He went through a mental catalogue. Hmm...Pan wouldn't be here, neither would Bra. He saw 18 flirting with Krillin. She wouldn't be here either and because of that, no Marron. He saw Gohan and Videl had settled down, but Pan was sending death glares at him. No Gohan, and Videl probably wouldn't be here either. Uub was eating with Goten, looking as if they were discussing something serious. Scratch off two more. Oh, wait, I'm dead too.

A very empty room, if not for what the other Trunks did.

"Trunks! I'm so happy to hear what you're doing!"

Trunks was startled out of his musing by his mom. Did I hear that right! Trunks firmly got a hold of himself. Of course she'd be happy. She asked me to do this, after all. "Thanks Mom. How's Marron doing?"

Bulma smiled. "She's just been working too hard. I brought her back to her room. When are you leaving?"

Trunks frowned. "I'm not sure yet. I think we'll leave in about three days."

"Alright. I'll get all of the supplies you'll need, including medicine samples to take with you."

"Thanks Mom." Trunks noticed Bra coming back. "Hey Mom, you're in Bra's spot," He said with a playful grin.

Bulma mock scowled at him. "So you like her more than me, eh? I'll leave you two alone, then!"

Bulma walked off to talk with Chi-Chi, while Bra sat back down. "She was in a good mood," Bra said in a neutral fashion.

"Yeah." It's not like Mom to miss the obvious, but I'm glad that she's happy. Trunks continued to eat, trying savor the moment rather than dwell on future problems.

"I'm curious...did you sleep with Pan?"

"Why don't just ask that in front of a shareholder's meeting at Capsule Corp.?"

Bra flushed. "Sorry…again. But did you?"

Trunks stared at Pan thoughtfully. "I won't say that I wasn't tempted. But no, I didn't."

"That's too bad."

Trunks jaw dropped. "What...?"

Bra smirked at him. "Pan and I played truth or dare when we were younger. It's amazing what you learn about a person when you play that."

Trunks blushed when he thought about what might have transpired during that game. "I wondered why you looked so smug earlier."

Bra waved a hand. "I knew how Pan felt, even before that. You, on the other hand, are a little harder to read. I was pretty sure what was going on in your head when you never settled down with anyone. I knew it when I saw you two together earlier. I'm happy for you two."

"It's not going to happen."

Bra looked bewildered. "What do you mean? You love her. She loves you. I'm not seeing a problem here."

"We'll talk about it later."

Bra glanced around, but other than Pan, nobody seemed to be paying attention to them. "Ok."

The celebration went on for hours. Most of the people there were feeling a happy release from the stress that had plagued them since even before the Shadow Dragons almost destroyed the Earth. Trunks and Bra spent the time in a companionable silence, each knowing that they would soon be separated for an unknown period. Trunks was thankful for Bra's perceptiveness, even if it was going to lead to an argument later.

Pan, Gohan and Videl unexpectedly left after the first hour, politely thanking Trunks for inviting them. He assured all of them that they were welcome any time. He made a special point to say it directly to Videl, as he could understand where she was coming from about the situation with Pan. The offer surprised her, and seemed to take the edge off of her dark anger from earlier.

At somewhere around eleven, Trunks decided that he and Bra needed to have the chat he put off earlier. Bra was nodding a bit, both because of the hour, and because of the three glasses of red wine she'd had. Rather than be drunk, she seemed to be in a state of lucid clarity. She readily accepted his offer to leave the party, and as they were leaving, they waved amiably to the others, assuring them that they could continue as long as they'd like.

When they reached his room, Bra flopped on his bed. It was sort of a ritual.

"Ok, bro. Now why are you going away for an undisclosed amount of time to a parallel world and not staying here to get married with Pan?"

Trunks chuckled. Bra had a talent of summing huge concepts up in a single sentence. "Hmm…to answer your first question, Marron thinks that something horrible is going to happen in the other timeline, or rather, should have already." He paused thoughtfully. "As to the other thing, Pan deserves someone her own age. Someone who won't be running off to deal with that other thing I mentioned. She should live a safe and happy life. She's already had to play hero enough times."

Bra raised an eyebrow. "The same could be said of you, Trunks." She sighed. "I hate when you're so damn noble. It's almost as bad as when you're being a stubborn ass." Trunks was shocked by his sister's words. "Stop trying to be perfect for a minute. You're going to hurt Pan by ignoring what she needs, in favor of what you think should happen."

"Bra, she's underage! She's not even eighteen yet!"

Bra sighed in irritation. "A technicality. She'll be eighteen in two months. By the laws of the Earth, and by Saiyan traditions, she can be married right now if she chooses." She pointed a finger at him. "What are you hiding from? You aren't giving me solid excuses as to why you won't return her love."

"Why are you pushing me about this, Bra?"

"Because a very sad girl once asked me whether she had a chance with someone as good as you!" She shouted at him. "And you know what? I told her that she did! Because I think she's worthy!"

"No one else offered to help Goku fight the Shadow Dragons. He may have insisted he could do it himself, but he was being just as stubborn about it as you are about this or dad is about just about anything!" She paused to take a breath.

"I want to know why you won't let her into your heart," She asked more calmly.

Trunks was startled by the depths of his sister's anger. "Alright." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "I'm probably going to be gone for at least two years, possibly three." His eyes went unfocused. "I don't know if I'm coming back."

"Why not!"

"Because something might happen that I didn't anticipate. Maybe I won't be strong enough. Maybe some piece of information I need won't be available. Maybe the bad guys will get lucky. Who knows?" He swallowed at the thought of what might happen to him. "What kind of person would I be if I made her wait for me…and I never returned?"

"The same kind of person you'll be if you turn your back on her right now."

Trunks frowned at her. "I told her how I felt today."

Bra's eyes were unrelenting. "Why? What prompted you to tell her?"

"I didn't know how she felt. I buried my feelings for her because she wasn't my age. Do you know how strange it is to love a girl that you babysat for?" Trunks shook his head. "It was your odd comment that made me see what she felt. I had to tell her at that point."

Bra sat on his bed, thinking. "Why are you throwing your life away?"

Trunks frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Dad always says that you can't win unless you know what you're up against. If you can't win, then your effort was wasted. You have no idea what you're dealing with, or you'd be able to tell me that you could win. Dad also says that those who go into battle before they're sure they can win are the ones who die."

"I don't want you to die, Trunks. I want you to come back safely. And I'm not the only one."

"Bra, I can't leave things the way they are now! Neither of us would be alive right now if the other Trunks and Bulma hadn't done anything!" He raked a hand through his hair. "I just don't know what to do about Bebi…"

Bra paled at the mention of the parasite that had almost killed all of them. "You're a bigger fool than I thought…but I can see why you don't want Pan involved." She turn onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "Here's the deal. If you don't come up with a better plan, I'm coming with you. No argument!" She said warningly as Trunks started to protest. "I don't want to go, but if you can't find a way to keep yourself alive, then I'll have to do it for you."

Bra stretched. "I'm up passed my bedtime, bro. You figure out something other than 'I'm taking them all on myself!' before you leave. Goku and Dad used to do that all the time. Don't forget that they also died on multiple occasions. You don't have that luxury!" Bra got up and left the room.

Trunks thoughts were long ones after his sister left. He turned his lights off, and stared into the darkness. She's right. I have no idea how to insure that Marron and I will win. If only I had some kind of an edge…