"...so that, I assume, is why Kyoko reacted the way she did to the idea of the Dragon Balls," Homura said. "After all, the wish of a Puella Magi often backfires."

Krillin glanced over at the irritable looking Kyoko, looking stunned.

"Oh...wow. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Kyoko just shrugged and took an angry bite out of the apple that she had stolen from Bulma.

"So Puella Magi are humans that made contracts with this...Incubator thing?" Bulma said, looking utterly fascinated. "Wow. I'm surprised we haven't heard of this before."

Homura really hadn't told them much, but it was apparently enough to sate Bulma's distrust. Kyoko had offered just the bare bones about her family's forced suicide, and Homura had only talked about the contract. There was no point in going any further.

"But what about you, Akemi-san?" Bulma asked. "What did you wish for?"

Homura just looked at her, long and level, until she flushed and looked away.

"And what about you?" Homura asked, glancing over at Krillin and Gohan. "What brought you here? How did you get here?"

"Bulma found an old Namekian ship on Earth," Krillin said. "We came here on that."

"We're looking for the Dragon Balls," Gohan said. "So we can wish our friends back to life. They died when we fought against Vegeta on Earth."

Homura felt all eyes on her when Vegeta was mentioned, but she merely waved it away.

"My alliance with Vegeta was what became necessary at the time. It no longer holds, so you don't have to worry yourselves. Please, continue."

Gohan nodded sheepishly.

"Well, anyway, my teacher Piccolo was a Namekian, and he was connected to the Namekian Kami that created the Dragon Balls on our planet," Gohan said. "So when Piccolo died, so did Kami, and our Dragon Balls don't work if their creator is dead."

"Our Dragon Balls are the same way," Dende said shyly. "They are connected to Guru's life force."

Krillin nodded in acknowledgment of this and picked up where Gohan left off.

"So when we heard that there were Dragon Balls here, we came here to find them," he said. "But we weren't expecting to run into Vegeta...or anyone more powerful than him..."

"You mean, Frieza, correct?" Homura said.

Krillin looked up at her, surprised. Homura grimaced slightly.

"I had...an unfortunate encounter with him. The conversation did not end well," she said dryly.

Kyoko snorted.

"Damn this," Krillin said, and Gohan looked sheepishly away as if pretending not to hear the word. "Even with all of us four, I don't think we'll even stand a chance against Frieza! We'll never get the Dragon Balls the way we are now!"

"Hey, speak for yourself, shortie," Kyoko said. "I bet Akemi and I could handle these jerks. No problem. Ain't like we can die easily, right, Akemi?"

Homura sent her a warning look. She wasn't quite ready to tell these people, no matter how trustworthy they might be, about the constitution of the Puella Magi. The fewer people that knew their single weakness, the better.

"If only Goku were here," Krillin muttered. Homura had heard that name once before, when Vegeta mentioned someone called Kakarrot. She decided leave the question of who that was for later.

"We have to work with what we have," she said, nodding at the Dragon Ball in front of them. "The Dragon Balls don't work unless you have all seven, am I correct?"

"That's right," Bulma said.

"Then we have some weight in all of this," Homura said. "For now, we can work on strengthening what defenses we have. Krillin-san, are there any other Namekians around? It might be beneficial to have more numbers."

Krillin had started shaking his head when a spark flared in his eyes.

"Guru! I almost forgot!" he said, jumping to his feet.

"What are you blabberin' about?" Kyoko said. She looked more irritable than usual. It was probably because she had just finished her apple.

"The Namekian Elder!" Krillin said. "He can unlock someone's hidden potential – Gohan has tons of potential, maybe if we unlocked it, he could stand up even to Vegeta!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kyoko said. "So what yer saying is that we're trusting our fate to the possible potential of an eight-year-old?"

"I'm five," Gohan said.

"You're what?!"

Homura stood up, and Kyoko glanced over, calming down for a second. For a moment, Homura actually wished that Kyubey was around. It would have been so much simpler if they could speak telepathically.

"Kyoko," Homura said softly, so that the others couldn't hear. "Listen. We need all the help we can get."

"He's five years old, Akemi! Five! I'm not fightin' with a five year old, no way."

Despite Kyoko's tough words, Homura could see the barest hint of concern deep in the red-head's eyes. Perhaps she was seeing her younger sister in Gohan. Perhaps she was worried about him getting hurt, and then feeling guilty about it.

"Listen. If this Guru can unlock a person's hidden potential, that might given Gohan much more power than we realize," she said. "I don't know exactly what Gohan is, but if my senses are any good, he's strong. He might not even be human. Think about it, Kyoko. You've seen Frieza, haven't you?"

Kyoko's face turned just the slightest shade paler.

"Yeah," she said. "You might have a point, there."

"Besides," Homura said, glancing over her shoulder. "Considering the look on Gohan's face, I'm not sure we could stop him if we tried."

Bulma had just about thrown a fit about being left alone again, so Kyoko had (very resentfully) chosen to stay behind and guard the Dragon Ball. Oh, and Bulma, I guess, she had said. In the meanwhile, Homura, Krillin, and Gohan sped towards Guru's home.

Homura had not been happy about Krillin's insistence on speed. After all, she knew that when anyone on this planet used their ability to fly, it sent up a veritable signal flare that would let Vegeta know exactly where they were. But she also didn't need to alienate her new allies, so she bit her tongue and ran along beneath them.

But sure enough, the house on the spire was barely in sight when her Soul Gem flared with heat around her finger.

"Krillin!" she shouted upwards.

He just nodded, shouted something to Gohan, and started to slow down.

"No! Go with him! I may be able to distract Vegeta long enough, and if I can't, someone needs to be with Gohan just in case!"

Krillin glanced down, not looking particularly convinced, but also slightly relieved. He put on a fresh burst of speed to catch up with Gohan. Homura sighed softly. Well, here goes nothing.

She transformed, and reached deep into her core for the magic necessary. It took the barest of moments to weave her wings, and then (with some effort) she pushed herself up into the sky. It would be a terrible idea to be on the ground and trying to face Vegeta, even if it meant that she had to reveal one of her abilities. Still, she hoped she could hold herself in the air long enough. She usually only used the wings for gliding.

A pair of guns were resting comfortably in both hands when Vegeta came to a stop in front of her. He still had the Dragon Ball under one arm, and Homura could only assume that he had come straight from the lake after finding the other Ball missing.

"There you are," Vegeta said, eyes flashing. "You've changed back, I see."

The words caught her off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't try to hide it, Homura! I saw your other transformation with my own eyes. Thought you would attack me, did you? Thought you would steal the Dragon Ball while I wasn't looking?"

"What are you talking about, Vegeta? I've been with Krillin and Gohan since you left."

Vegeta gave a bark of laughter.

"A likely story!" he said. "I suppose you thought you could distract me long enough while one of your new allies grabbed the Dragon Ball. I'll bet it was that other Puella Magi I ran into. Tell me, that red-head wouldn't happen to be your precious Madoka, would it? I thought she might be on the planet."

"What? The red-head you are referring to is Kyoko Sakura. Madoka is not on this planet. Not physically, at any rate."

"I'm sure, Homura. You just don't want me to hurt your precious Madoka in front of you."

Homura's fingers tightened on her gun.

"You are speaking nonsense, Vegeta! Your anger is blinding you – you aren't making any sense at all!"

"Stop playing dumb! I saw your attack me with my own eyes! And you didn't make much sense at that point either!"

"What are you talking about?"

"'Turning, turning, turning, why does it never end?'" Vegeta mimicked in a mocking tone. "A sobbing mess. I don't know what you had to cry about, but it certainly confused me. Maybe that was your strategy."

Homura's blood froze. She could hear her heart pounding much louder than usual in her chest. 'Turning, turning, turning'? 'Why does it never end'?

She could almost hear gears turning in her mind, picking up speed as they went. Vegeta had been attacked by a girl that looked like her. One that said nothing but nonsense...at least, it seemed to Vegeta. Kyoko had seen a girl: one that looked like a helmeted Sayaka in the water, like a fish – or a mermaid. And the other shadowy figure on horseback, the one that had created doubles of itself. And then the shadow itself that the Namekians were so afraid of, the one that Neyru had told her about, the one that killed all the Namekians –

"No," she whispered. "It...couldn't possibly be...that's against all the laws of the universe..."

And then suddenly, a burst of power caught her attention behind her. Vegeta, too, looked surprised. She turned around – it was coming from the house at the top of the thin mesa.

"That'll be Gohan," she said.

"What?" said Vegeta.

And he burst around her towards the house. Swearing at herself for letting down her guard, Homura shot after him. They reached the landing almost at the same time.

A tall Namekian stood outside the door, looking irritated. Krillin was also there, looking tense. The Namek muttered something in Namekian before switching over to something Homura understood.

"So who else should I be expecting?"

"No one else, hopefully," Krillin said. "Homura, couldn't you have held him back for just a little longer?"

Homura sent him a withering glance, and then slid herself over so that she was between them and Vegeta. Gohan flew from the doorway, took in the scene, and ran to stand by Homura.

"Hello again, half-breed runt," Vegeta said. "You've gotten stronger since I last saw you."

"Wanna go, Vegeta?" Gohan said, taking a fighting stance.

Vegeta just laughed.

"Why don't I let you in on a little secret, kid. You're still weaker than the last two arrogant bastards I killed."

Gohan's expression faltered, but he didn't budge. Homura had to admire his courage.

But if what Vegeta had told her was true, and if what she was starting to put together was really why Madoka had brought her here, she didn't have time to waste with Vegeta.

The witches could be massing as they spoke.

But she had barely moved to start her clock when something caused her Soul Gem to burn. Vegeta's arrogant expression disappeared, and he whipped around towards the sky.

"What is that?" Krillin said. "Something really powerful is coming!"

Was it a witch? Homura's heart jumped into her throat.

But by the look on Vegeta's face, he already knew what it was – and there was no way that Vegeta would know a witch.

"That – no," he said, looking shocked beyond belief. "I can't believe it. He called them in?"

He growled something in a language Homura didn't understand, and she could only imagine that it was some Saiyan swear.

"What?" she said. "Who is it?"

Vegeta glanced at her, and a mixture of anger and frustration shone in his eyes.

"Frieza's elite fighters," he said. "The Ginyu Force."

"Let me guess," Homura said, as the sky lit up with the explosion of their ships' landings. "That's bad."

"Bad?"

Vegeta's grin was sarcastic.

"It's terrible."

Homura closed her eyes. So. New fighters, ones that even Vegeta was afraid of. There were witches on the planet.

Madoka, she thought. You have too much faith in me.

Then she opened her eyes.

"So. Shall we reform our alliance, then?"