Joey popped his truck into gear and tore off from the carnival like a bat out of hell. He felt incredible, and wanted to do something he'd not been able to do in a long time. He drove towards the airport.
He loved parachuting. Right before he'd been diagnosed, he had been planning to try it from a balloon.
He found the parachutists place, and found the operator, an old friend of his, Vinnie. Vinnie had not seen him in a while. "Joey, you dog! Where you been?"
Joey grinned. "Laid up. Look, I know this is a lot to ask, but could you let me parachute today? I just gotta."
Vinnie shrugged. "All right. You can find some gear in the office and I'll get the plane."
Joey suited up and came out to see both Vinnie and Angela, Vinnie's sister. "Hey there fly-boy. Long time no see."
He walked up and hugged her. He'd always fantasized about Angela. After he let go, she said, "Vinnie tells me he's taking you up. Well, I'm coming too."
Joey and Angela got into the back of the plane, and Vinnie went to the cockpit. The plane took off, and in a short time, they found themselves up at around 9000 feet.
Angela put her helmet on and shouted over the wind, "OK, Joey, here we go!" With that, she jumped. Joey yelled "Woo-yeah!" and followed her.
Wind ripped at him as he fell, yet despite that, there was the odd feeling of weightlessness as well. He saw Angela turn a somesault in the air, and followed suit. He checked his atlimeter, and it was close enough. He pulled his ripcord and the chute opened, and he jerked to a slower fall. He looked around, and saw Angela struggling with her chute. She kept falling and falling.
Oh god, thought Joey, something's wrong. She can't open her chute. He fought to tear away his chute and fall towards her and engage his emergency chute, but he couldn't. He looked at her as she continued falling. Wanting so much to help her in some way.
In a second, he felt the familiar warmth of Madame Illusia's transforamtion speed over him. He grew, busting out of the harness, and growing wings, a tail, and horns. His body contorted, and he grew scales. In a second, a dragon was there where Joey had been.
It seemed so easy after that. Tucking himself together, the dragon became a missile which shot down towards the beleagered parachutist. He caught up, grabbed her by his hind claws, and unfurled his wings, pulling out of the power dive.
After that, it was as simple matter to deposit Angela on the ground safely.
Joey landed next to her. The warmth receded, and he changed back. He walked over to Angela, and found she had fainted, but was otherwise OK.
He shook himself. It had been almost second nature to change. What else could he do?