Michael never expected his life to end before his shift even started. The morning had been normal enough: a half-finished cup of coffee, the faint hum of his old car, and a quiet drive to Walmart. Then came the truck. A flash of blinding headlights. Metal twisting. And silence.
When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing. Only darkness. It stretched endlessly in every direction until a small ball of light floated into view. The brightness cut through the void, shining like a miniature sun.
Michael blinked. "Am I… dead?"
The light pulsed as if amused. A voice echoed, deep yet strangely casual. "Yes. My bad about that."
"What?"
"I might have accidentally killed you," the voice said. "Truck-kun was supposed to take out another Michael today. The system mixed you up."
Michael stared blankly. "You mean… you actually used the truck meme?"
The light flickered again, almost like laughter. "I thought it would be funny. Guess I overdid it. Anyway, before the higher gods notice, I'll make it up to you. I'll reincarnate you anywhere you want. Any world. Any race. And since it's technically my fault, I'll even throw in a couple perks."
Michael's shock faded, replaced by excitement. "Anywhere? Even… fictional worlds?"
"Of course. Pick wisely though. You don't get a redo."
Michael didn't hesitate. "Dragon Ball. The DBZ universe."
The light brightened. "That one's… chaotic. But fine. Two perks. What'll it be?"
"I want to keep my memories," Michael said. "Everything I know about DBZ. And I want to choose my race."
"Simple enough. What race?"
"Saiyan."
The god's glow intensified, swirling like a galaxy being born. "Alright. A Saiyan you shall be. But to insert you properly, I'll need a vessel. I'll use the body of a fallen Saiyan elite. He died recently in a battle with the Frieza Force. You'll wake up in his body."
Michael could feel the darkness twisting, pulling him inward. "Wait, what's my name?"
"Up to you. Make it count. And Michael… try not to die too fast this time."
The light exploded.
When the brightness faded, Michael opened his eyes to a reddish sky and the smell of scorched metal. His head throbbed. He pushed himself up and looked around. He was lying in a wasteland, smoke rising from the ruins of what looked like an alien outpost. His reflection shimmered faintly in a pool of water beside him. Wild black hair, sharp eyes, a tail wrapped around his waist. A Saiyan body. Young, maybe five years old.
"So it's real," he whispered. "This is actually happening."
The god's voice echoed faintly in his mind. "You're welcome. Oh, and I might have placed you around the time Frieza's about to blow up Planet Vegeta. Thought it would be fun. Bye now."
Michael froze. "Wait, what?!" But the voice was gone.
He sat there in silence for a long moment, letting it sink in. Age 737. The destruction of Planet Vegeta was imminent. That meant King Vegeta and Bardock were both alive right now. He glanced up at the sky where distant stars shimmered. Somewhere out there, Frieza's ship was already charging up.
"Okay… no pressure," he muttered. "I just have to survive the extinction of my entire race."
His memories of the show flooded back. He knew what was coming, but that also meant he had an advantage. Knowledge. If he was smart, he could use it. He needed a ship, or at least a scouter to find one.
The ruins around him seemed abandoned. He scanned the ground and spotted the remains of what looked like Frieza Force armor. A cracked scouter lay beside it. He picked it up, brushed off the dust, and pressed the side button. The display flickered to life, showing faint power readings. Weak but working.
"Good. That's one step."
He fiddled with the controls, cycling through frequencies until he picked up a faint signal of Frieza's soldiers. They were close.
Michael crouched behind a pile of rubble. His body felt light, stronger than before. He could sense faint energy nearby, like a pulse through his skin. "So this is ki," he whispered. "I can feel it."
He remembered watching Goku train as a kid on TV, trying to copy his stance in front of the mirror. Now he was living it. The thought made him grin. "Mom would've loved this," he murmured.
A flash of light appeared in the sky. Michael looked up and saw a small ship streaking toward the horizon. He knew that glow. Frieza's forces were regrouping. Somewhere, Bardock was fighting for his life, screaming in defiance into the void. The thought made his blood rush.
He clenched his fists. "I can't save the planet. But I can save myself."
Michael ran. His young body moved faster than he expected, leaping across craters and cliffs. His tail helped him balance as he climbed a ridge and spotted a small Saiyan pod half-buried in the ground. It was damaged but intact.
He approached and brushed off the dirt. The hatch creaked open when he hit the panel. Inside, it smelled of burnt circuits and dust. He slid in and looked at the controls. Most were broken, but he recognized enough from what he'd seen in the series. He punched in random coordinates far from Planet Vegeta. The console beeped weakly.
"Please don't explode," he whispered.
The pod powered up, lights flickering to life. A low hum filled the air. He looked through the small window as the engines started. In the distance, he could see a faint glow on the horizon, like a second sun rising. Frieza's attack had begun.
"Guess this is goodbye," he said softly.
The pod shook violently, launching upward. The pressure pinned him to the seat as the world below turned into a blur of fire and smoke. Through the glass, he saw Planet Vegeta crack apart. The explosion lit the stars, swallowing everything in light.
For a moment, Michael just stared. That was it. The birth of Goku's journey. The fall of the Saiyans. And the beginning of his own.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Alright," he muttered to himself. "New life. New body. Same brain. Let's make this one count."
As the pod drifted silently into the void, he felt a flicker of something deep inside him. A faint spark of ki. Unrefined, raw, but alive. He focused on it, feeling it pulse in sync with his heartbeat.
A small smile crossed his face. "If I'm gonna survive this universe, I'll need to get stronger. Way stronger."
The stars stretched endlessly before him, and for the first time since his death, he felt truly alive.