It was a sunny day and Cell's defeat at Gohan's hands a few days before made it even more beautiful than it already was. Future Trunks planned to go back to the future as his goal had been reached and so all of the Z-Fighters and the Briefs family stood outside to wish him the best for his trip home.

"I'm so proud of you, son! Be careful on your way home", Bulma told her future son who had a huge smile on his face, wearing the same short Capsule Corps Jacket from their first meeting.

"Thanks, Mom", Trunks looked her with deep affection before he turned around to face Gohan, Krillin and most importantly his father, Vegeta, who had grown close to his heart.

He only had his mother left in the future, everyone else was already dead and the fights he had experienced with Vegeta had shown him that the seemingly emotionless man held a soft spot for his family after all.

"Dad", Trunks nodded to his father who gave him a small wave with two fingers in return.

Smiling, Trunks climbed up his time machine, sat down and gave one last wave to his friends and family as he started the Time Machine. It flew upwards and initiated to travel to his home dimension, but before he managed to actually enter his parallel universe, a rift ripped open right above him which caused the space around him to shake abnormally, and as the Time Machine wasn't constructed to endure these fluctuations, it exploded. The muffled cries of his family and friends were the last thing he heard before falling into unconsciousness.

oooOooo

Everything was dark around him. His head hurt like never before, his body was heavy. The last time he felt like this was after Gohan's death at the hand of the androids a few years before.

"I hope Trunks is going to wake up soon, it has…", that was everything he heard before another strong headache hit him. At least he recognized the voice. It was his mother's.

Another feminine voice conversed with his mother and despite it being a bit familiar, he couldn't quite assign it to anyone, "Don't worry, Bulma, it's going to be fine. Trunks will definitely wake up soon."

With everything he had, Trunks tried to let out some kind of noise to turn their attention to himself. It took him a few seconds to actually say something, "H…h…Hey."

The room around him went silent. The two women immediately ran towards his bed.

"Trunks, you're finally awake. I was s-so worried!", his mother kneeled next to him and just listening to her made him realize that she was probably crying, "W-When you started off an-and the Machine suddenly exploded, I-I thought I h-had a heart attack!"

Trunks felt her hands on his left one and tried to open his eyes. They actually opened slightly, just enough to see his young mother looking at him with red eyes and quivering lips. It had been a long time since he had seen her like this, or more accurately, his mother in the future.

It felt like another defeat to him. His trip to the past was there to make sure that his mother would always be happy and safe, now he had failed to do that, causing the alternate version of Bulma to cry her eyes out.

"W…What…hap..pe…ned?", Trunks managed to croak out with a dry whisper.

He remembered that something exploded. It could have only been the time machine. No! It had to be safe! He had to save his mother in the future! his heartbeat began to speed up just thinking about this possibility.

His mother sniffed once more before as she placed her palm on his left cheek, "I'm so sorry, honey. I couldn't save your Time machine. There was this rift that opened up above you and…," she paused as another tear escaped from her eye. "There is nothing left from your time machine, just a few fragments. Everything else vanished with the rift. I'm so sorry!"

His heart literally stopped. The Time Machine was gone. The technology wasn't advanced enough yet for his younger mother to build one in this timeline. There was no way to return to the future. No one was there to save the people from the androids. His mother was alone. He couldn't keep her safe.

This was enough for him to fall unconscious once again.

When he opened his heavy eyes again, he felt nothing. He failed his mission. He failed his humanity, but most importantly, he failed his mother.

Managing to sit up on the bed, he noticed that he was alone in the room. Only a bed, a drawer and a mirror could be seen. It was the room he slept in during his time before his planned departure. His body felt rather fatigued, probably due to the stress he felt from the conversation with his mother as there was nothing wrong with his hands or legs from what he saw. It must have been the result of consuming a senzu bean.

His eyes suddenly widened in wonder. Why were his hands more slender than before, his forearms were less buff than before, not to mention his legs. They were the same length, just smoother? And also more slender. Energy suddenly rushed through his body, lifting him off the bed in record time. He rushed in front of the mirror where he saw what seemed as much as a dream as the rest of his situation.

His height was the same at around 1.72m as was his long lavender hair, but everything else nearly gave him another heart attack. His once broad shoulders were a bit narrower and his buff arms that once featured quite enormous bulges of muscles were also smaller, still very muscular yet much leaner. The short pajama pants Trunks wore showed slender, muscular legs that appeared longer than before in relation to the rest of his body. And if he hadn't noticed it before, the sight of his chest made it apparent what actually happened. Two huge bulges lifted the Capsule Corps Shirt he wore away from the rest of his body. He had seen women before with similar features who apparently had D-Cup breasts. Yes, he actually showed a bit of cleavage when he leaned forward.

His heartbeat accelerated and his Ki fluctuated chaotically, his breathing sped up, making him nearly hyperventilate. The last part he inspected was his face. The Shape was similar to before, sharp handsome features and blue eyes, just that his face was more elegant, giving off a cold beauty vibe as he liked to describe it in the past.

He turned into a woman. There was no denying it. Not only had he lost his ticket to the future in the form of his Time Machine, but he had also turned into a woman. In his opinion, the first problem was much more severe than the gender issue. Nevertheless, This was a bit much for him, or rather her, to swallow. Trunks fell to her knees, staring at the visibly cracking mirror in front of her. Even the ground beneath her started to shake from the ki pressure she was giving off.

Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing Vegeta and a distressed Bulma behind him. Trunks looked at her parents with tears in her eyes. Her hair blew in all directions, nearly transitioning from lavender to yellow from all the different emotions she felt.

"W-What happened to me? What is going on here?", he nearly yelled at them while trying to not go Super Saiyan inside the house.

Vegeta was the first to go up to her, "Calm down, brat! We will try to explain what happened but don't destroy the house."

Trunks closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to even out her breathing. A minute later, the room went to normal and her body exuded no more excessive amounts of Ki. This was the signal for Bulma to come forward and embrace Trunks.

"It's going to be fine, honey. We are there for you", Bulma tried to comfort her by stroking her hair.

"But what am I supposed to do? I can't go back to the future! What about Mom? I have to protect her!", Trunks mumbled into Bulma's neck, squeezing her a bit firmer than before.

Bulma was seemingly touched by this statement, "There is nothing we can do, Trunks. I can't build another time machine for you and even if I managed to, I need to know some kind of coordinates to not open up another timeline instead of sending you to your own. And please listen to me", she took her daughter's head between her soft hands and looked her directly in her eyes. "I'm certain that my future self won't hold it against you. You bravely fought against the Androids and Cell, saved our lives by warning us beforehand, thereby guaranteeing a brighter future for all of us. I am very proud of you as would be my future self. Accidents can happen, it's not your fault in any way. You did what you could."

That was when Vegeta cut in, "The woman is right, brat. You're a proud warrior, a descendant of the Royal bloodline of Saiyans. No one will hold this against you, I guarantee that my future counterpart, if he was alive, would have been proud to have you as a son… well, daughter", Vegeta visibly became a bit awkward when he mentioned his now daughter's change of sex.

Trunks was visibly touched by her parent's little speeches. Never had she expected to hear her father say such words, even after all the time they had spent together in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. She once again hugged her mother and whispered in gratitude, "Thank you, Mom and Dad. I'm blessed to have you as parents."

Vegeta didn't really know what to do in the meantime so just stood in the door frame with his arms crossed. The pair of mother and daughter still kneeled on the ground, deep in their own world.

"Say Trunks", Bulma looked in her daughter's blue eyes. "What do you want to do about the gender change thing. We could ask Shenron to wish you your old body back."

Trunks thought about this for a moment, "It doesn't matter. I just lost my way back home so this is the least of my problems. I don't really care."

When Vegeta heard that, he wanted to interrupt them to give his own opinion, yet he was too slow as Bulma had already continued.

"Then stay this way and stay with us. You can live with us. As you have to stay here, I will somehow manage to squeeze you into our family register as our daughter. Not to mention, Vegeta definitely wouldn't mind a training partner now that Goku stays in the afterlife. Right, Vegeta?", she looked back at him to confirm the obvious.

The proud Saiyan Prince didn't show his approval in his expression and just gave a low grunt in response.

Bulma smiled, "There you have it. What do you think?"

Trunks was silent for a minute before watching her parents. It was the only real choice she had. And it lifted her mood a bit.

"Okay, Mom, I will stay here with you two. Do you want my present self to be my younger brother? His name is also Trunks so we have to do something about that, I guess", she said.

Her mother's expression brightened up, "I already thought about that. Now that you're a girl, Trunks doesn't necessarily fit you, so why not call yourself something else, like, for instance, Mirai. I think it is a fitting name, especially considering that it means 'future'. I like it."

"Sure, if that's the new name you give me, I'm fine with that. Mirai Briefs, I think it's good", Mirai smiled slightly at her mother, still a bit shaken from all of the changes she had to face.

"Hehe, Mirai Briefs, the first female Super Saiyan, that's kind of nice isn't it Vegeta?", Bulma asked and actually saw the lips of her children's father twitch for a moment. He had to be pleased now that his flesh and blood managed to be the first at something Saiyan related.

"It is to be expected of the Royal Family, woman", Vegeta turned around to walk away. "I expect you to be in the Gravity Room tonight, brat. We have to train."

Mirai's face lit up in happiness. Even with all of the bad things that happened in her life, there was always something that gave her hope. She had no way to return, but at least she had a loving family now, friends, and the determination to keep this hope alive. Not to mention she still had a mom, just not the exact version she had spent most of her life with. She would honor her memories of her future mother in this timeline and ensure the safety of her present family.

Bulma had already left to buy some clothes for her daughter and manage any legal issues with her sudden appearance, so Mirai laid down in her bed to relax some more before training with her father later that day. If only time could stop for a moment.

Unknown to her, the alarm clock next to her slowed down for a moment before it returned to its usual speed.