Arriving at the brink of dawn wasn't something Bulma had prepared as she maneuvered to land the Time Machine in the desert. The weather was much cooler than the one in May 784, but not ungodly so. From her future self's notes, 787 had much higher temperature variations than her own world. Then again, it was the desert, in the wee hours of the morning, in April, so of course it was cold.

As soon as they were out of the vehicle, which was put back into its capsule, and the half-breed became full size once more, Trunks pulled her car out of her capsules.

"Let's go to Mount Paozu," Bulma had decided.

It was far too early to expect anything from her alternate self, so saying hi to Chichi, a friend she had lost so long ago.. And Gohan, oh my, did she long to meet Gohan again, especially a Gohan that hadn't gone through decades of battles.

Trunks obeyed and drove her mother all the way to the Son estate. She was nervous and repeated once more to her mother that she wasn't ready to tell them about her situation, which was why she put on the binder when they left their world for this little escapade. She had even removed her dog tag and stored it safely in her capsule case, but kept the pink pendant.

The closer they got, the more focused Trunks became, and as they were closer over the forests of the mountains, she understood what she was feeling.

"There are two people fighting," she explained when her mother probed.

The absence of earth-shattering blows, the calmness of the forest they were flying over and how Trunks hadn't turned around meant whoever was fighting wasn't that powerful, Bulma gathered, and she trusted her daughter's judgment to go towards it. Was it Gohan sparing with someone? She couldn't tell, the kis were too small.

The moment they arrived on the prairie in which the Son household was nested, the source of what Trunks perceived came clear to the two visitors. Two children were roughly play-fighting, but their game was interrupted by the arrival of a strange flying car. It also stopped Chichi's clearing of the outside table, where she, her two sons and her guest had breakfast just moments prior. The widow gestured for the two boys to go back inside ASAP as the vehicle approached.

"Was that Trunks?" Bulma asked as a whisper, just as they landed, somewhat excited. "And Chichi's second son, right?"

Trunks nodded quietly, as Chichi closed the door, effectively locking the boys inside, even if there was no doubt in her mind that a seven year-old version of her could tear those walls apart if needed. A mother always protected the children, even if said children were far stronger than she was. She was far more invested about something else she noticed.

"Gohan-san isn't here."

"Chichi!" Bulma hopped off the car as soon as it had landed, before Trunks even turned off the engine.

"Bulma!...? Is that you, Trunks-kun?!"

Chichi put two and two together quickly, as she recognized Trunks and her car. This was Bulma, but not the Bulma she knew. They hugged hello while Trunks watched from afar, extending her senses to try and find Gohan.

"If you're looking for Gohan-kun, he's at school," Chichi understood Tora's behavior, and her guest took in the information, a little red-faced at being found out, approaching when gestured to come closer.

"Come on, you've got to meet the boys," Chichi easily accepted the situation. "Wait, nothing's wrong, right?"

"Nothing, just visiting," Bulma reassured. "Call us 'Tights' and 'Tora' by the way, we don't want to confuse the kids yet. I'll put everything in order with young-me later."

"Tights, uh?" Chichi giggled at the fake name, but accepted it. This Bulma was a hands-on engineer, her overalls were clean but still full of tools, and despite recognizing her older face and features, she looked different than the manager-academic that was now her friend, and whom she saw on a semi regular basis because Trunks and Goten were such close friends.

.

Chichi introduced Bulma and Trunks as 'Auntie Tights and her handsome son Tora,' and they all shook hands awkwardly.

Soon enough, the two women were outside drinking some well-deserved coffee and reminiscing like 'old women' as the child version of Trunks had said, which earned him a solid back of the head slap by his alternative mother. Tora couldn't help a quiet chuckle, and she too got a little slap. The pair of 'rude boys' fixed their own hair with uncanny similarity, which was not missed by either mother. Tora went as far as to untie and tie it back up properly.

"Get out there and entertain the kids instead of supporting such nonsense, Tora. Shoo!" 'Tights' ordered.

"Yes, they have so much energy to burn, give us old ladies a break," Chichi doubled down.

And since the boys were both in gis, and their workout had been interrupted, the two of them decided to 'get to know' this armed stranger, the Saiyan way. Tora sighed and finished her coffee as the boys jumped around, asking for a spar, since she 'looked somewhat strong'. She had to accept, it was four-on-one. So she gave her sword and jacket to her mother for safekeeping. She took the two boys away from the Earthlings, both to get to know them a little better, but also to give the two old friends some space to talk more or less freely as they had so bluntly requested.

Usually, Chichi would have had some words of caution, but she trusted the time traveler enough, after all, he had been good to her eldest. A glance and a nod were enough to establish trust.

There was something oddly satisfying and uncanny fighting against two kids who were pretty much in sync. She had fought the Cyborgs like that a few times, but despite it being a two-on-one, the spar felt much different. Tora couldn't help but get lost in her observation skills as the two boys, 'Son Goten' who was six, and Trunks, who was almost eight, tried their best play-fighting to take her down. There were a few close calls, but the kids weren't taking it seriously either, which was good, so she didn't need to transform.

Trunks had that side part Tora sometimes had when she was younger, and a similar undercut, but he wore green and orange, colors she herself had never worn. Now her own hair was longer, tied back high to make sure no locks were on the way, her cowlick situation was under control, but Trunks had it bad.

Goten wore orange and blue, a gi Trunks was familiar with because it was the one her version of Gohan wore. Unlike him, he had long sleeves, and his mane was a carbon copy of his father's. His round eyes and focus, his enthusiastic childish demeanor, his manners, all truly gave away his ascendance.

"Tora.. I remember that name," Trunks remarked between blows, but couldn't place it. The adult who was actually able to keep up with them was familiar. He was surprised by Tora's palm touching his forehead briefly.

"Guard's open." Tora cracked a smile, purposefully not giving details to her younger counterpart.

Goten was a more quiet kid, he was more disciplined in his fighting style, but he was also somewhat weaker due to his younger age. His hits were more precise, though, even if they had less strength than Trunks'.

"You look so much like him," Tora had to wonder out loud.

"People keep saying that about me and dad," Goten expressed a little annoyance and embarrassment.

Tora used Trunks' strength against him and tossed him out of the way. She barely managed to duck to avoid Goten's nails as he aimed to her head with a jump. The boy had used the blindspot his friend had created to attack the moment Trunks was out of the way, but hadn't anticipated how fast Tora could be. With her open palm, he hit him in the sternum and pushed forward to send Goten out of her guard, applying strength when pushing and not in the initial hit, effectively breaking the fight when the boy landed a few yards away, rolling in the grass.

There was no doubt in her mind that Trunks had been training with Vegeta, some of his stances and hand positions were dead giveaways, but Goten? Goten was intriguing. He had technique, but it wasn't Piccolo's, nor Gohan's.

She called for a timeout when the boys were back on their feet, ready to charge. It was enough.

"No, I didn't mean Goku-san. Look."

She gestured for them to come closer, as she pulled her wallet out of her back pocket to take out the laminated photo this world's Gohan had given her. The photo of them two during his ninth birthday. She sat on the grass as they rushed over, rubbing off dirt from their clothes.

The two boys were intrigued enough, sliding under Tora's arms to have a closer look, ignoring all sorts of manners when it came to physical proximity. Tora allowed it easily, even welcoming the contact.

"Is that your dork brother? It's true, you look alike!"

"That is Gohan-san, yes. You have his eyes, not Goku-san's."

"Tora-san, are you a friend of big brother's?" Goten was interested.

Tora confirmed with a smile. It had been eight years for Gohan, and a little under two for her.

"Wait, how old are you?" Trunks was a bright boy who realized this guy looked basically the same as in the photo, where Gohan looked young. Very young.

"Old," Tora answered her younger counterpart with a smirk.

When Trunks looked up at her, unhappy with the answer, she ruffled his hair playfully, and he pouted, protested, and fixed his hair, giving Tora some uncanny sense of déjà-vu. Her Gohan used to annoy her like that too, and she happily reproduced the pattern with her younger self.

They all heard Chichi call for them, so Tora gestured for the boys to get moving so she could stand up. Whatever the older women were talking about, they were done.

And looking at Chichi, seven years older but just as fit and powerful, enough to raise two half-Saiyans and keep two kids under ten obedient, Tora realized it was her fighting style that she saw in Goten. She had seen her fight against Goku, from Sixteen's database, and she knew Chichi herself was a martial artist too. Chichi had been training Goten, and that was interesting, to say the least.

Trunks felt somewhat familiar with this visitor, and he couldn't piece it together, and 'Tights' had an energy that felt similar to his mother's. He and Goten changed clothes, it was time for Goten to go to school and for Trunks to return home. He had spent the night, as he did on occasion.

"They're weird, that uncle and the old lady," Trunks huffed with his friend.

"You think, Trunks-kun?" Goten wondered when he pushed his head past the collar of his tee. "He doesn't look as old as an uncle…"

"Yeah but he was already adult-old when he met your bro in that picture, so he has to be old-old, even if he looks kind of young. Maybe he's a little like Papa? That's why he fights well."

"Ah you're right. The cake had a nine on it, so if that uncle was an adult then, he's at least..?" Goten wondered why he'd never seen that picture before. There were plenty of pictures of Gohan as he was growing up in the whole house.

"25." Trunks did the math. "Mhh.. It's like I've met him before. It's weird. Very weird. Also he's strong. He fought us both easily, right? That's not normal."

"You think he's stronger than big bro or your dad?" Goten gasped, worried at the possibility.

"Pfft— Oh actually that's a good idea, I'll get papa to test him."

By the time they came out, Chichi had her car out, ready to drive Goten to the city to prepare for his upcoming schooling. Tora and Tights had their car out, too, and were seemingly waiting.

"Trunks, auntie Tights is taking you home today, so be good with her and Tora-kun in the car, alright?"

Despite asking for confirmation, Chichi wasn't exactly giving a choice to the boy.

"We called ahead while you were changing," Tights added, taking the wheel while Tora said farewell to Goten, kneeling at his height and holding his hand for a moment.

"Alright, but I can fly, so if you try funny business, I'm getting Papa and he's gonna teach you a lesson," Trunks warned with a 'I see you' gesture.

Tights and Tora had a quiet nervous chuckle, which Trunks saw as the embodiment of a well-placed fear. 'Damn right!'

"'Papa', uh. I bet he's strong." Tora couldn't help but wonder.

"Super strong! Stronger than that dork Gohan, don't listen to Goten, he doesn't know any better because he's still just a kid."

Trunks somewhat missed the knowing look the two visitors exchanged, the mother clearly communicating a 'just like you' taunt, which was answered by a shrug.

.

Tora took the passenger seat, sliding the sword off between the two seats against her leg, and gestured for Trunks to hop on her knees. Trunks hesitated, he was a big boy, but the car was small, so he had to make it work. Why not.

"There's no seat belts?"

"It's a prototype." Tights promptly answered, and a glance confirmed she would add seat belts to the car at some point. "What, you're afraid?"

"I'm Trunks freaking Brief, I'm afraid of nothing, Auntie."

"Oh I wonder where that bravado comes from," Tights asked Tora with a wink, and Tora just sighed, kept quiet to not fuel the fire, and properly wrapped her arms around the boy.

.

The two boys waved goodbye at each other from their respective cars, and they took off, the green car absolutely racing towards West City much faster than Trunks had anticipated, so he held on tightly to Tora's jacket. He was about to comment that this lady drove worse than his mom, but something he couldn't put his finger on bothered him.

A more or less vivid experienced memory of him doing something similar one night, flying , hidden under the jacket and feeling safe hit the boy, and he looked up at Tora, wondering where exactly he had met this person before. The hold was secure and familiar, and there was something he liked about this man's scent.

.

Tora held firmly too, her mother was no-joke of a driver, and she wasn't used to being driven in her own car, by someone who knew how to fly it, and did so better than her. She wasn't scared, but she was tense and ready to act should anything go wrong.

'Tights' wasn't afraid of anything, and West City traffic, while she hadn't missed it, didn't intimidate her. She chose to drive because she knew her daughter didn't have any experience with heavy traffic. And traffic laws.

"Oh West City, how have you changed," the driver whispered in awe over the city, bright, fully built, expanded, thriving. She drove straight towards the Compound's backyard.

"Wait wait, if you go through there, you'll be shot by the drones!" Trunks remembered.

"Bulma-san added the car to authorized vehicles the last time I was here," Tora said with a hint of worry. She wasn't sure her car wasn't removed, so she was ready to intervene should indeed the drones consider the car and its passengers intruders. The sight of the Gravity Room squeezed Tora's and Tights' hearts, for different reasons.

"Then we're all good for landing. Hold on to your socks, kids!" 'Tights' knew her younger self wouldn't have removed the vehicle, out of the odd chance of a timely (ah!) visit, and her thinking pattern was proved right when the car landed without a hitch.

.

Tora let go of Trunks so he could exit the vehicle first and fetch his parents or grandparents. Clearly, these people were familiar with the compound, their car was registered, Auntie Chichi knew them as friends, Tora had a picture with Gohan, so these were probably some of those adult friends his parents had that he never saw before.

The boy had looked a little bewildered by the trip, 'Auntie Tights' drove with energy, but overall he was fine. Tora couldn't help but fix his hair briefly with a tender smile before he jumped out and ran off waving goodbye to the adults who had driven him home. He'd warn the adults about visitors and go to class himself, and hoped to fight Tora again later.

"He's not there," Tora whispered to her mother who kept her eyes on the Gravity Room after they had capsulized the car and walked closer to the house's back entrance. There was a chance that he had left for good, after all, but Tora refused to believe it, Vegeta had.. somehow promised to keep an eye on the kids, when she left.

If Vegeta was up and training, she'd have felt his energy. So either he was sleeping, or he temporarily was out. The Compound had expanded a lot in the last seven years, but the overall structure and organization remained the same.

Tora took her mother's hand, feeling she might need the support to see everything that could've been, everything that she had personally lost. She had only lost Gohan, but her mother? Her mother had lost it all to the Cyborgs. This couldn't be easy, but the older scientist was determined. She was on a mission.

"I'll be fine, Trunksie," she whispered back, squeezing her hand and putting on a brave face, until two versions of her parents came out through the back door.

.

"Oh my, Bulma-chan! And Tora-chan, it's been forever! You haven't changed a bit," Panchy exclaimed happily, welcoming the pair inside with joviality. "Have you seen the gardens? The flowers are blossoming so nicely."

"Uh, Bulma-chan? Ooohh…" Dr Brief promptly understood once he saw an older version of his daughter with the time traveler he once knew.

"You've not changed at all either, Panchy-san," Tora was quite shocked at that, as age had marked Dr Brief a little, Panchy still looked far younger than she should be. Hell, she looked even younger than she did seven years prior.

"Mom, Dad, we need to talk. It's nothing worrying or severe, but…"

Tora left them to discuss things, as she wasn't needed, and slowly wandered in the corridors of the compound. Sixteen wasn't there, but Tama throned over his domain, and once again, Tora tried to hold his gaze. And failed.

Tora was soon met by Bulma, who was rushing to get ready far too early for her liking, after being woken up by an hyper Trunks who had said nonsense about a certain 'Auntie' Tights and a 'Weird young-looking Uncle'. Vegeta growled a threat and remained in bed, uninterested by any shenanigans that family could pull out of nowhere.

When Bulma saw Tora, she gasped and jumped into his arms, but the teenager, like he usually did, kept her at arm's length, even if the smile was warm.

"You look good, Bulma-san," she heard him say. "Mother is with your parents," she redirected.

"Shit Vegeta's going to lose it when he sees you. Wait, did old-me use my sister's name? That's smart. Is everything ok? New danger?"

"No danger, but Mother will give you the details. I suggest you don't call her 'old', she will absolutely have your head if you do," Tora warned lightly, knowing how meeting this short-haired and elegant woman would be different for her mother, and they both loathed being reminded about their age.

"Right," Bulma chuckled and walked with her alternative son towards where the Briefs had reunited. "It's nice seeing you, you.. haven't changed one bit."

"You haven't, either, apart from the hair. It looks good on you. And it has only been five months for me."

Meeting a different adult version of oneself was an experience, and Tights now understood what her daughter went through when she met handsome-twenty-year-old Trunks. Both Bulmas complimented each other, though, and commended their respective bright spirits and quick-thinking, the older being thankful for the notes and warning the younger had sent, with the help of their oldest counterpart, the 787-Bulma that had gone through losing everyone, including her Trunks. All in all, it could have gone worse, as Bulma hid from her older counterpart that she had had her files, and failed to crack the passwords, before Vegeta blasted her only copy away.

After a few headaches and agreements later, while Panchy went off with Trunks to do some shopping, Dr Brief, Bulma, and Tights confirmed the use of Bulma's older sister's identity for the older Bulma as a wise choice. Some more coffee and cigarettes were spent discussing their 'story', mostly for the sake of the kids. Tora had no national registration paperwork, due to, well, not existing (or being seven years old…), so Dr Brief decided to take it upon himself to make sure the time traveler had some valid ID.

When it came to deciding some key elements, it was easier for Tora to remove ten years off her actual birthday, so she changed it from November 21st, 766, to November 21st, 756. It made her younger than she actually was, but it was a temporary arrangement so she didn't mind. Since her mother still thought of her as a seventeen year old, it was fine. Her official name became 'Tora Brief', for all intents and purposes. Her gender was also marked as male.

Half an hour later, they received temporary paperwork, and the two blue-haired women conspired and with Dr Brief, they made a few phone calls while Tora was shown to her guest bedroom. Well, 'guest', it now had a little tiger symbol on the door, and while it was clean, it hadn't changed much since she last used it. The Briefs kept it as Tora's room, visibly. It was with a deep smile that she claimed the bed by dropping her sword on it, and hid her capsules, including the Time Machine, within the books that had since changed to more recent ones. The access card for the Compound was on the desk, so she took it.

Something was brewing against her by the two older women, and before she knew it, Tora found herself taking a bunch of aptitude tests and by lunch time, she was enrolled in school. The same school her mother went to, for some ungodly reason, and even worse, she was signed up to a bunch of 'regular' classes to compensate for her flaws and gaps in education. Sure she was a math genius, and a good engineer due to sheer practice and being raised in a lab, but her writing was abysmal and so was her culture. And her social skills, which was the whole reason for the plot to begin with. She loathed it.

"This will keep you busy while I do all that boring medical stuff, sweetie. I want you to experience life with other teens, alright?"

It wasn't really a request, and Tora couldn't really refuse her mother, even if the younger Bulma looked especially mischievous. She had planned something, she knew something and Tora feared the powers of one of the strongest women on Earth.

When Tights and Tora went to Central City to finalize the paperwork, accompanied by Dr Brief who needed to pay the school a visit (and weigh in the admission process so his son from the future wouldn't be bothered), Tora was dragging her feet.

She absolutely didn't want to experience what school was, even if her memories of it as a child were hazy at best, the idea of being surrounded by kids and authority just didn't sit well with her. But her mother insisted, and insisted heavily, so she did it for her. Working through the finer details, with her ID that said she was male, would be something to deal with as situations appeared. Push come to shove, the fabric binder could carry her for the duration of a normal school day, so she felt pretty confident keeping hidden from Earthlings.

It was when they entered the principal advisor's office, after hearing her complain to the principal about an absolute urgent day one enrollment that was forced upon her, and then hanging up the phone, that Tora realized this would end up just fine and that for once, fate smiled at her.

"Syo-chan!" she exclaimed, seeing the advisor, and the young woman gasped, dropping her (thankfully empty) mug.

The 24 year-old wore a professional, stern deep green suit, a loose bun gathering all of her loose curls together, and leaf earrings as well as a nice rose-shaped brooch.

"Tora-kun! And that's.." She approached to shake hands with the two, cautious, still shaken by the apparition of a ghost.

"My mother, yes. It's alright, Syowa-chan knows most of everything. You look nice."

"Oh?" Tights asked, a raised eyebrow. 'Syo-chan' was such a familiar way to address another person...

"You haven't changed one bit. How long—?"

"About five months," Tora anticipated the question. "Mother thinks I need school, so I am going to be doing that for a few days."

"Months."

"Days." Tora insisted.

"Months," Tights repeated.

"Hours," Tora glared.

"Weeks?" Syowa offered.

"Weeks." Tights conceded, but Tora didn't continue negotiating.

"So you know about Tora's circumstances, that really helps us out.. OH. You sneaky, sneaky child, she's the girlfriend!" Tights realized and nudged gently her daughter, and Tora got red-faced. It didn't help that she often wore Syowa's hair tie, with the green pebbles.

"Tora-kun didn't take me on a date, so I don't know if 'girlfriend' is suitable," Syowa chuckled lightly and Tora wanted out of there. "Hey it's fine, you were nice to me and it was all my doing anyway. She was good to me, Mrs Brief, I was young and well..."

"Oh so you know. Call me Tights please. Yes, a true hottie right there. No date though? I thought I had raised you better than that."

"Mother.."

"Well she did show up to my balcony, and we ate ice-cream."

"How romantic."

".. And she is such a good kisser. It was nice."

"Syo-chan!" Tora huffed, disliking being talked about by her mother and.. date? former lover? Whatever Syowa was. She dreaded further talks and details. So she did her best to change the subject. "Syowa-chan helped me get fitted. She knows about Trunks, and about the Cyborgs," Tora briefly explained, and that was enough context for her mother to know what the other knew, and steer the discussion away from their... relation.

"Oh and you're not fleeing any of it, that's good, shows great strength of character. It also means we can count on your discretion, then. I'm sorry we're sorta-doing this outside of the regular circuits, but you know, it's not like we could do anything ahead of time."

"Yes I understand, it's alright, it's my job to deal with strange cases. Tora-kun, are your results real?" Syowa looked suspiciously at the exams she received just prior. Both confirmed they were perfectly real results. "So third year is where we place students with such good results, and since they just started, I think we can squeeze you in during second period this afternoon. Professor Algi is going to lose his mind."

Syowa was a little cunning too, annoying the math teacher was one of her precious pastimes as admin.

.

After a quick meal in the cafeteria, some ironing of the paperwork (and the story about being off-world and not time-traveling) Tora did a tour of the facilities during the first period of the afternoon with her mother, who remembered most of the buildings and amenities from where she was a student in the school, Tora quickly memorized most of everything. Syowa caught Professor Algi to give him Tora's test and warn him that he would have a new student next period. Her mother wished her a good afternoon, kissed her cheek and left the premises to settle other matters that concerned her more directly. Tora wasn't shy to hug her mother close before letting her go reluctantly; in a few hours she would be back to her at Capsule Corp.

Tora was then given a badge to identify her as a student, once the bell rang to indicate second period was to start, and Syowa took her to the math class for third year students.

It was then that Tora absolutely glitched when she felt Gohan's energy, heard him shout her name, and he jumped into her arms without reserve, in front of all other teenagers, the teacher, and the advisor.

And Tora mentally cursed and blessed the younger version of her mother, who certainly knew Gohan was in this particular school, in this particular grade. And perhaps her own mother knew, too.

.

.

.

So in Japan, you'd call "auntie" and "uncle" people who are at least a generation older than you. If it's half a generation older, you'd usually call them "big sister" or "big brother".

In DBZ, Goten calls Videl "big sis", and Vegeta "Uncle".

Trunks calling Tora "uncle" indicates he thinks he's "closer in age to his parents" than "to himself", and not "close in age to Gohan".

Keep this in mind, as it'll be relevant later ;)