~Aug. 25-26, 2001~

Disclaimer: Standard ones apply.

Note: This is for all the people who wish to know in detail what happened before and during the War in The New Age Empire. Now my final battle is really going to suck so don't be too hard on me in the reviews. You can either read this by itself or with the other story.

Information: If you're just joining this timeline then there are things that you should know about it:
1: Goku didn't die during the Cell Games. Gohan decided not to make Cell suffer and instead kill him before he used his bomb. Since that is the only major difference, this timeline has been dubbed "Alternate Reality". The Majin Buu saga happened exactly like before just with a few more characters.
2. Goku and ChiChi have an additional child. Son Mia is younger than her two brothers at fifteen but she's a martial artist just like them.
3. Gohan and Videl had a daughter younger than Pan now. Right now Son Moura is only one year old.
4. Bulma and Vegeta have been quite busy with *two* additional offspring. Vegeta Briefs Junior is twenty while Jakina Briefs is only nine.

Ages of Everyone Else: Trunks is twenty-four, Goten is twenty-three, Pan's ten, and Bra's twelve.

The Guide to The New Age Empire can be found @ http://denkaku.gokugirl.com/fanfics/nae2_guide.html

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And So the Heavens Wept
The prequel to The New Age Empire

The day began just like any other. The sun rose slowly, caressing the blue planet of Chikyuu with its warm rays. It looked to be a promising day with temperatures in the upper seventies and not a trace of rain in the sky. Alarm clocks were just beginning to beep, buzz, and ring all over the city and sleepy people yawned and began to start the day. Only one person was wide-awake, though, and he stood high above the planet on Kami's Lookout.

"Popo-san," Dende began, "do you sense anything unusual about today?"

"Not really, Dende." The genie responded. "Is there something wrong?"

He frowned with concentration as he sought to pinpoint the exact source of kis he was feeling. "I feel unusual kis in the solar system but I don't know where the originate from. In fact, I can't even tell if they have evil intent or not!" He looked ready to tear out his hair in frustration -- that is if he had any to begin with. Finally he decided to just wait and see. Acting hastily might result in undesired consequences.

On the other side of the world, the occupants of the Capsule Corporation were now in the "getting dressed" stage. Angry shouts could be heard from within over who would use the bathrooms first. At length Vegeta Jr. and Bra one and their frowning siblings were made to wait. The time was now seven-fifteen.

The kis Dende sensed a mere five minutes before were located on a ship that currently orbited the planet. It was a highly polished metalic silver and the side that faced the sun gleamed in the darkness. There were no weapons mounted on the hull and very few windows were seen either. On all outwardly appearances it looked to be nothing more than a very large cargo ship but inside it was a very different thing.

Blue-skinned aliens went about their way on the ship completing the final tasks until decimation. The aliens were many different shades of blue but one trait was shared among the entire lot. Their skin was semi-transparent that you could see the faint shapes of various internal organs, their eyes were a brilliant red that glowed with a feverish purpose, and their hands and feet ended in razor sharp claws that could shred most species to ribbons in just a few seconds. The claws were retracted at the moment so that their hands were free to work without fear of accidental destruction. The young ones were taught almost from birth to always keep them hidden except in battle and they grasped it quickly. The children that didn't were not fit to live.

The Kamoku-jin were a race of death and had been created for just such a purpose. The original bio-engineers were of a species that had been at war with a neighboring planet for millennia. When the other race invented new technology so did they. When the others began training their people from birth they quickly followed suit. Soon the people who had eventually come to be known as simply the Perfection Seekers had began to create a set of magical springs that greatly enhanced a person's abilities. So the other planet was forced to take extreme measures.

It took them years to perfect the first beings as it had taken the Perfection Seekers years to finish the first spring. The war was halted for almost a decade while both people hurried to finish their ultimate weapons. After thirty years had gone by there were seven magic springs of Agalar and three-thousand blood thirsty Kamoku-jin. On the twentieth day of the new year that had been later called The Day of Sorrow, the final battle took place in a vast desert on planet of Agalar. Ten hours later the Perfection Seekers were completely wiped out. All of the other species, the Tun'tn, were celebrating in the streets. It took the Kamoku-jin only another few hours to kill them all as well.

The streets of the cities ran red with the blood of the Tun'tn as the killing machines they had given birth to turned on them. No one was spared in the viscious onslaught as the Kamoku-jin satisfied their enormous hunger of death. After the high of killing finally faded the Kamoku-jin began to build an empire from the ruins of the old one. Their only purpose in life was death so that was the only thing they spread onto others. Over the years their ways had become creative. Death by torture, death by poison, death by murder, death by disease. No matter how the poor, unfortunate victim met his end they enjoyed it. There was one important rule to their madness, though, do not kill a competent member of your own society. It's okay to harm others but killing other Kamoku-jin is strictly forbidden.

So they orbited the planet of Chikyuu only a few minutes before they were to send a few hundred tiny capsules with a specially developed virus that would (hopefully) reproduce the effects the bubonic plague had on its victims in the middle ages. If anything the symptoms would instill fear in the populace and cause panic and division among them all. With such disorganization there would be hardly any resistance.

After being programmed where to land, the tiny white capsules headed off for their destinations: heavily populated metropolis'. Paris, France was hit as well as New York City, New York; Tokyo, Japan; and London, England. But still Dende did not detect anything wrong.

***

It was now several days after the launching of the virus ridden capsules and its effects were become widespread. Upon impact with a surface, each capsule had opened sending millions of deadly microorganisms into the air or the water. Paris was the firstcity with a major plague problem, their capsule had immediately landed into the water supply infecting millions within the first three days. Finally Dende noticed that something wasn't quite right on Chikyuu and kicked himself because he didn't realize it sooner.

"What should I do, Popo-san?" he asked as he literally watched people die from the plague. "Is there a cure for this disease at the moment, Popo-san?"

"I don't believe so, Dende," he responded. "Iie."

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" This was his second world-wide crisis and he still didn't know what to do.

"I suggest that you contact Bulma and have her exaimine all of the ones who have just died. The disease should be still active in their bodies up to three hours after. Then she could develop something that can help everyone's immune systems combat the disease."

"That is a wonderful idea, Popo, but unfortunately I don't have a way to do that unless I travel to Enma-sama's doman and speak to Kaio-sama."

"Then do so, Dende. No matter how quickly you accomplish your task, many people will die."

The Namek young man sighed deeply. "I know. That's what saddens me so."

Millions of people were crowding hospitals all over the world by the end of the week and their cases were all the same: high fevers, aching limbs, the vomiting of blood, and swollen lymph nodes. Eventually their swollen glands would turn blackish in appearance and then burst, spreading the disease even farther. From start to finish the entire process only took around three or four days. Some of the people with milder cases miraculously recovered. The healthy people had all fled the areas that were hit the most. The disease had spread the most in the first two weeks and Satan City; the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Capitals; and the immediate surrounding areas had been spared until the first case was seen exactly sixteen days from the original date of release. The victim was Kamesennin Mutenroshi.

No one knows just how the disease had spread beyond Tokyo; some were suggesting birds or insects while still others said it was from the people who had fled the metropolis. Either way it had arrived and was taking lives.

A few hours after releasing the epidemic upon the world, the Kamoku-jin and their huge, metalic spaceship had moved just outside of the solar system. They all knew that there were warriors on Chikyuu that could easily climb aboard a spaceship and hunt them down. It only added an extra thrill to the already dangerous planet extermination they usually committed. When everyone was dead they were to go planetside in special bio suits and take a trophy or two back to their home planet. It was proof that they had done their job. They waited for a week and still people remained. They waited for another week and still there were survivors. At the end of the third week the scouts reported that someone was stopping the disease and it was beginning to die off. Then the decision was made to execute plan B.

There were going to attack the planet personally. No matter what, their thirst for death would be quenched.

***

"Goku!" Kaio-sama's voice screamed inside of his head late Wednesday evening -- twenty-three days after the Kamoku-jin arrived in orbit around Chikyuu. "There is a large group of aliens heading towards Chikyuu. Dende started feeling something three weeks ago but couldn't figure out what it was."

Goku raised a single eyebrow then nodded. "Go on."

"It looks to be a warship, Goku. So far I've counted only about one-hundred thousand onboard. Hai, they are coming for evil intent. They are the Kamoku-jin, the Death Bringers, and master in many different things that always result in extreme pain and then death. There is one ship, now, but others are on their way. This single ship alone could give you trouble."

"Not again!" he sighed wearily. "When we will be left in peace?"

"At this rate: never."

"Thanks for telling me, Kaio-sama. I'll take care of it." He sighed once again and spoke aloud. "Goten! Mia! We have trouble!"

"What's wrong, Goku-sa?" ChiChi asked as she wiped her hands on her apron. She had been in the kitchen washing the dishes from dinner.

"Kaio-sama just told me that there is a large ship heading towards the planet. So far he's aware of at least one-hundred thousand aliens onboard. They want to kill us off."

"Oh no!" She exclaimed as their two youngest children joined them in the living room. "What's the reason this time?"

Both Goten and Mia were out of house before she even asked the question. Goku paused in the doorway and kissed her briefly on the cheek. "They don't have one, ChiChi. They do it because they can." He joined his children in the sky, then, and headed off to the Capsule Corporation. The rest would be called from there. First Bulma was needed to figure out just how close the ships were to the planet, then a plan would be devised accordingly.

"Be careful Goku! Mia, Goten don't," her breath caught briefly, "die on me." ChiChi continued to watch them until they were out of sight then she turned and headed directly to the television. If things were as bad as Goku said they were, then it would be all over the news soon. It would be her only way to find out what was going on.

***

"How many are there Bulma?" Yamcha asked in a worried tone. He was afraid and it was clearly apparent on his face. Although he wasn't the only one, the others were better at hiding it. The human Z-senshi were all getting on in years and probably wouldn't any help but at least they showed up. Yamcha had to be begged by Krillin. It seemed he still has horrible nightmares about the time Jinzouningen Nijuu-gou, or Doctor Gero, put a fist through his abdomen. Eventually he gave in and said that he would fight until his last breath. Oh how true that would prove to be.

"I can only see the ships that are inside of our solar system so I can only get an estimate." She quickly double checked her computer to be sure. "There are five ships now; around three million inside of the solar system. The largest ship, the one that's closest to Chikyuu, is sending out smaller ships filled with lifeforms. Approximate Kamoku-jin per smaller ship is around three-thousand. There are about thirty of those. In ten seconds, one of those small ships can cross two-thousand. The ship nearest to us is approaching Beijing, China and will reach it in about five seconds. From there it can reach this city in six seconds."

"You sure are efficient," Yamcha frowned. "That was a bit more information than I wanted to know."

"That's not the only ship making planetfall. The others are headed to various other large cities to finish off what they had started with the virus." This startled everyone when she said that. Bulma gave them all smirk and merely continued to track the ships. "Dende felt this a little over three weeks ago. That was the same exact time Paris started showing symptoms of that recent plague we had. Both of these horrible incidents happening around the same time? I think that was a little too convenient, don't you?"

"You're right," Goku said. "They probably were trying to weaken us."

"Or they could have tried to kill us with the illness alone," Gohan pointed out. "Since it didn't work they're now coming to finish the job. What do we do, Tousan? What's the plan?" When in doubt, leave the planning to Goku. Even Vegeta had to admit that they were usually good ones though they made not seem that way at first. The Cell Games was a good example of that.

"I'm putting one person of great power with two others that are weaker. Gohan, you go with Pan and Bra to North America; Vegeta, you take Trunks and Goten and look after Europe and Africa; Piccolo, take Mia and V.J. with you to Central and South America, and Krillin, Yamcha, and I will watch over Asia and Australia. Hopefully we can keep an eye on the ships in each area but I don't know. They seem so fast."

No one disagreed with his plan and everyone left immediately for their respective areas. Bulma took the laptop she had been working on with her back to her lab but handed Goku a small communicator.

"If I have an updates, I'll contact you on this. I know you have a strong mental bond with everyone so you're the perfect person to give this to." She kissed each of them on the cheek. "Please be careful. I don't want to see any of you dead again."

After all three promised, they took off into the skies of Japan to watch over their charges.

***

The main ship had hovered above Chikyuu for majority of the battle. Most of the small ships had been destroyed in the air after only blowing up a few buildings but still a few escaped in the rain forests of Brazil and the vast desert of the Sahara. All of the Z-Senshi were tired from the battle and from attempting to locate the injured people and getting them medical attention. The time was now one a.m., five hours from the time Goku was first contact by Kaio-sama. Vegeta's team and Gohan's team were both on their way back from their areas when the mothership opened fire onto Satan City.

There was a hidden beam cannon mounted on the underside of the largest ship that had begun to be called the "mothership" by Bulma. From the point where the entered the atmosphere to the point where their destination was located they began to blast completely at random, hoping to do as much damage as they could. The beam energy, once it impacted upon the ground, left burned areas around two miles in diameter and nothing was left alive. It finally hovered over the center of the city at twelve fifty-five a.m. and began to shoot at one. It took them five minutes to reset their weapon.

While the mothership did not have great speed, it possessed an unholy amount of firepower. The area it covered was always so darkened in shadow that the people thought the restored moon had been blown up again. When they came outside to see, they found themselves looking up into a great area of glowing energy that soon engulfed them completely. The heat was so intense that the all living cells were completely disintegrated within a split second and bones were charred beyond recognition. Goku and the other two Z-senshi that made up his team arrived at the scene just as the mothership was moving on.

"We've got to stop that thing!" Goku shouted over the deafening screaming of the panicked and dying. People were trying to flee the city as fast as they could. All three stood on the ground in the exact center of the great circular scar on the planet and watched the ship move on.

"Can't you just shoot a Kamehameha Wave at it and blow it up?" Yamcha asked.

"Iie. I'm too close to be able to get it all at once. Large pieces of the ship will fall from it, crushing innocent people. I can't risk their deaths."

"Normally you can't," Krillin said, "but this time you may not have a choice."

While they had been talking, hundreds of Kamoku-jin had begun to pour from inside of the ship. They jumped from at least two-hundred miles in the air and fell slowly and gracefully towards the ground. But Goku couldn't kill them immediately, first he had to ask them to leave nicely.

Of course it didn't work. Instead the Kamoku-jin proved that they meant business by moving faster than either Krillin or Yamcha could see and killing them with a ki blast similar in appearance to the beam that comes from their cannon. Goku had seen many things in his lifetime -- that included many different ways of death -- but this was by far the worst. He turned away after three seconds but he could not close his ears to their screams as their bodies were seared straight to the bone. The attack burned away their cells layer-by-layer until it reached naked bone. Then the bones were abandoned completely. It was thirty seconds of the most extreme pain imaginable and the Kamoku-jin's fanged mouths grinned in glee. Goku was left in shock over the whole thing but quickly recovered when the aliens decided to have a little fun with their prey first.

Goku was filled with a mission: he would exact revenge for his fallen friends and stop this evil before he spread to other planets. He gave the fight his all but in the end it just wasn't enough. The saiyan had hardly ever met someone faster than he was but these aliens were among few. They wouldn't even give him time to transform into a super saiyan level three! He managed to kill a small percentage of them but, tiring of play, the Kamoku-jin used the same attack on him that they had used on his friends. Goku had decided later on, in the afterlife, that he hadn't known what pain was until he experienced that attack and hoped to never find out again. It was now one-fifteen and his back-up had arrived.

The mothership in this time had moved over yet another area of the city and turned it to ash. That had been where the Capsule Corporation had been located. The two groups, Gohan's and Vegeta's, split over the city. Vegeta, Trunks, and Goten went to aid Goku while Gohan, Pan, and Bra went to tell the people to evacuate. Bra went straight to the her home and found her mother still working in her lab.

"Kaasan! You have to get out of here!" She cried frantically. At the speed the mothership was moving, it would reach their location in a matter of minutes.

"Wait just a second, Bra," Bulma muttered. I'm almost done here..."

"We don't have time for that!" Bra began to tug at her mother's arm with tears running down her cheeks. "Can't you transfer the information from the big computer to your laptop? Start that now and let's go!"

Bulma took one look at her face and decided to do what she said. The data transfer took a minute and a half and storing things into three capsules took another minute. Bra grabbed her mother's hand once everything was done and took off into the air. The four of them just barely made it out of the cannon's range of when it opened fire. Bulma paled as she saw the destruction; she had almost been caught in the middle of it. Gohan sent the two girls and Bulma to his mother's house and took off for the main site of the battle. All who were able to sense ki knew that Goku's, Krillin's, and Yamcha's could not be detected any more. So they feared the worst.

"What happened here?" Gohan asked as soon as he had landed. Vegeta and the other two were facing off with the Kamoku-jin in the barren wasteland that used to be downtown Satan City. Goten and Trunks remained silent and at length Vegeta spoke.

"These blue aliens here killed your father and the two ningen," he said. "They were too fast. I can't fuse now that Kakarott's dead but Trunks and Goten can form Gotenks. His speed should at least match theirs in level three."

Both young men quickly performed the fusion dance just as the Kamoku-jin began to move. When they dematerialized there wasn't even an silhouette. Gotenks had just emerged in a bright flash of light just as a Kamoku-jin fist reached his face. The super warrior caught it neatly in his open palm and began to squeeze. Just when he was about to crush all of the bones in the blue-skinned alien's hand, he delievered a hard knee to his stomach and a ki blast from his other hand into his face. That Kamoku-jin fell onto the ground lifelessly, dead before he even hit.

Reacting with outrage at their comrade's death, they redoubled their efforts to kill Gotenks. He flew high into the air and used the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack on them, creating at least a thousand separate ghostly images of himself. Each tracked down a Kamoku-jin and exploded upon contact. Very soon the entire ground force was dead and they did away with the mothership and a few of the ship out in space. Two escaped beyond his reach, though, and all assumed they were going to report back to their home planet. Hopefully it would be decided that it was dangerous to even set foot on Chikyuu.

Vegeta seriously doubted it.

It took two more days to figure out that even though the Kamoku-jin were freakishly fast, they could not sense ki. Very easily teams of humans hunted down the remaining ones by sneaking up on them during the darkest hour of the night. On midday of the twenty-sixth day since the Kamoku-jin had sent out the virus, the War finally came to an end. At the exact instant the last alien was killed, a heavy rain fell onto Satan City to wash away the blood that had soaked the land from the thousands of deaths of the Kamoku-jin.

Vegeta sat at the window of their temporary home, staring at the fat drops at they hit the ground. It was not the end of their trial but only the beginning. Even though the threat was now over, there was still the small matter of rebuilding all that had been lost and wishing back all those who had been killed. The short saiyan stood and decided to take a walk in the rain. He had begun to have thoughts about what had happened to Chikyuu and how everyone had been practically defenseless against it. Something would have to be done to ensure nothing of that sort ever happened again. Vegeta exited the ramshackle old building and tilted his face toward the sky. He would find a solution to the problem if he spent the rest of his life trying.

And so the Heavens wept.

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