Toxic came too after a second or two of being stunned. She called out in pain and shock as she came to. The wind roared past her ears, as pieces of the destroyed shuttle spread out around them. She looked around her. She saw Sunshine next to her and Snowflake almost a hundred feet away. She saw someone far away above them. It was the woman who shot them down. The self-styled savior of the world, the Madjulla. She was diving head first toward Toxic. Toxic thought this was insanely bizarre. "First she blows us up and THEN throws herself out of her own shuttle? Hey Sunny! You still with me?" Sunny screamed, "We're GONNA DIE!" Toxic yelled at her, "YER MOM ALREADY GRABBED LIME AND THE Z-MAN! SHE"S COMING BACK FOR YOU! HOLY CRAP!" Toxic looked goggled eyed as the Madjulla shifted and changed form. She flowed like quicksilver into the form of a huge dragon. Toxic growled, "OH YEAH!? COME ON YOU BIG LIZARD!" She created the sword of nuclear force in her right hand and readied herself. She knew the Madjulla was meaning to kill her. She saw something streak past the upper rim of Shalmiraine and swoop onto the back of the Madjulla. It was the River Prince in his true form. He was huge now, but not as big as the Madjulla. He tore into her wing membranes and smashed his spiked tail into the back of her head. She screamed and turned around onto him. The melee was to fast for most people to see details of. Prince was hurled away from the Madjulla in a trail of blood. The Madjulla righted herself and came after Toxic. Sunshine was screaming her friend's name, "PRINCE! PRINCE! OH, NO! PRINCE!" He pulled out of his death dive and circled below them. He was bleeding profusely, but was still in the air. The Madjulla dived at Toxic and ran into the green shield that Snowflake manifested in her way. The dragon pivoted and struck at it with her tail, smashing it, and striking Snowflake. Whether she was killed or not, Toxic couldn't tell. However it did fill her with a rage she welcomed as friends got hurt in front of her. She felt the fire without her screaming to get out. She saw Sunny's terror and Prince's blood in the air. The dragon came right at her. Toxic showed her teeth and whispered, "Why don't you suck on ME, bitch! I'm TOXIC!" The dragon chomped down hard on Toxic's body. Meanwhile ,Rose had returned as soon as she could. She grabbed Sunny and Snowflake's limp body, and streaked back to to the same cargo-lock she had left Lime and Zeelob. The star-bright explosion behind her was unexpectedly big and violent. If she hadn't been flying away from it at MACH one, the pressure wave would have slammed her unconscious. She looked down between her legs as a mushroom cloud started to form. The stunned Madjulla fell towards the ground, with her teeth cracked and her mouth on fire. In the swirling firestorm, the River Prince snatched Toxic's limp body out of the maelstrom of destruction. The Madjulla pulled out of her dive and flew off, raggedly, trailing smoke. The River Prince flew up as hard as he could, heading toward the cargo lock he had seen. He was half-way there when he changed back into a human, and he and Toxic started falling again. Rose just made the grab on both of them. She flew them to the cargo-lock as her power-cell ran dry. They all landed in a limp, bloody heap. Toxic was nude again, and the River Prince was still bleeding. Zeelob ran up with a first-aid kit, as Lime called for medics. Rose sat there, as Toxic sat up suddenly. "OW! She chewed me! AND had bad breath! How could she CHANGE INTO A DRAGON?" Rose looked over at Toxic and asked,"Can't you? You have the blood of Typhon,too." Toxic looked deeply perplexed. "I... never tried!" Rose lay down on the cool deck-plates and said, "We REALLY need to interrogate your father. Doctor Panchetta has questions to answer. Maybe Neon can change,too." Medics arrived and started treating the wounded. --TO BE CONTINUED!--