Disclaimer, I don't own The Impossibles or Big D, they are copywrited characters of Hanna Barbera. I don't own many of the original characters featured in this story, except Serina Amira, Prince Ali's adoptive Family members, Sandrina's henchmen, incidental characters and some locations in the story. The Impossibles civilian identities and personality traits, Ali, Sandrina, the Sultan and some locations such as Khakistan, Megatropolis the SSHQ and any specific agents, such as Skittles/Impossi-Pup are the property of My Friend and fellow Fan Fiction writer and Artist, Erin T. Aardvark. A sincere thank you to her, for all her help and input with the inspiration and writing of this sequel, to her own original story, "Arabian Nightmare." Recommended reading, as some of my chapters do contain spoilers from the original story.
As always my sincere thanks goes out to my friend, Mentor and Fan fiction storywriter extraordinar Irual, who tirelessly helps me get these chapters ready for posting.
No infringement is intended and nothing but the injoyment of creating this story and the all important reviews are gained by the posting of this story. Of course I do hope all the readers will enjoy this new chapter, So sit back relax and enjoy, read and review, Please…As the adventure continues…..
Chapter six. "A Nightmare Come True"
It was like a tableau in the hall of horrors, of a wax museum, except the participants were real and if something didn't happen quickly, there would be one less Impossible.
No one noticed Skittles backing up because she was now behind the group of horrified onlookers, after wiggling free of FG who's attention like everyone else's, was riveted on the scene before them.
Knowing she was Multi's only hope, Skittles backed up as far as she could, revved up and took off…
"Time is running out, Little Brother, what is your decision?" Sandrina was saying, getting impatient.
Before Ali could say anything more, a flash of lightning shot around the group standing near the sultan's bed, heading toward Multi, making contact, quickly pushing the semi-conscious Impossible, off the foot stool and out of Abdul's grip, getting him quickly out of the range of that deadly blade, just as Hakeem brought the scimitar down, just missing Abdul by inches, splintering the stool and getting the sword stuck as it hit the floor.
The white lightning bolt then made a u-turn heading back toward the criminals crashing into Hakeem's mid-section, driving him into the far wall, knocking the muscle bound minion out.
After pausing for a millisecond and sighting her next target, Skittles became a blur of speed again, racing back in the other direction, crashing into Abdul who was trying to get up, finding the scimitar had not only imbedded itself in the floor, but had caught his pants leg, pinning him in place.
Ramming into Abdul, Skittles drove him into the opposite wall, ripping his pants leg away from the sword and knocking him out.
After taking care of her two cohorts, the super pup set her sights on Sandrina, who, when she realized she was out numbered for the moment, having lost the advantage her hostage had given her, decided to beat a hasty retreat, while Skittles was busy busting her minions.
Fluey and Coiley along with FG and Ali had run over to see about Multi, who was still only semi-conscious and then leaving him to the Drs. they ran out of the bedroom into the hallway following Skittles who had gone after Sandrina.
She had dashed out of the door passed the guards who were just coming to, after being clobbered by the blackjacks that Hakeem had thrown at them, before entering the Sultan's bedroom.
Sandrina made it back to the hidden door, just before Skittles, caught up to her, slamming the door behind herself, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of sharp teeth and jamming the opening mechanism closed.
Skittles was excitedly barking and doing her pointing (Poing) thing, at the painting on the wall as Ali, Coiley, Fluey and FG, caught up to her.
They were trying to figure out how to get thru what they knew had to be a hidden door.
They were followed closely by Azeem and one half of his company of guards.
The royal guards used their swords to pry the framed portrait open and followed their leader to track down the princess, searching thru the tunnel and spreading out to search all the passageways.
Sandrina, had run quickly into a small side tunnel piling up debree blocking it off, so that the guards searching for her would mistake it for a dead end and not bother to search it.
She cowered there in the darkness edging away from the entrence to that passage hearing the sound of running feet and trying to recover her breath after being chased by that furry little buzz saw and then followed the darken path feeling her way along.
This tunnels steady incline like stairs carved out of the rock lead her to an upper hallway thru another portrait of a long dead ancestor.
The exit of this hidden passage had brought her to the balcony overlooking the throne room.
Looking through the railing down to the main floor, she silently watched the ruckus at the other, (not so secret any more) door.
Meanwhile the medical personnel, (joined by paramedics, who had been summoned) which had been caring for the Sultan, had been split up, caring for His Majesty and Multi, after untying the injured Impossible.
They also checked the two criminals, before they were hauled off to prison to await their fates.
The shock of what had nearly happened to Multi right in front of him, at the hands of his daughter and her minions had taken a terrible toll on the Sultan's already critically fragile health and given him a horrible shock, resulting in a heart attack.
Even though they were amazed that the attack hadn't finished the job his illness had started, the Doctors. weren't sure what, if anything, they could do.
Multi was in better shape, but he was suffering from a sizeable very black and blue lump, on his temple and bruised ribs, thanks to Skittles rescue from Sandrina's minions.
The Doctors., one of whom was the head physician, who treated Fluey when the dark haired Impossible was shot, in the incident last year, were insisting that Multi come with them, to be treated at the hospital saying he might have a concussion.
But the redheaded Impossible stubbornly argued that all he really needed was a couple of aspirin, an icepack and some bed rest.
Giving up trying to force Multi to go to the hospital with them, the Doctors. followed the paramedics who put the Sultan, who was muttering Sandrina's name, into the ambulance and raced off to the hospital.
His Majesty's personal physician accompanied the paramedics to the hospital in order to care for the Sultan.
The parchment declaring Ali successor to the throne was safely locked way to prevent it from being stolen or destroyed.
Ali, Coiley, Fluey, FG and Skittles had arrived back to the Sultan's bedroom in time to see the Sultan being taken on a gurney to the waiting ambulance.
They had entered in time to hear part of the conversation/argument Multi was having with the Doctors. about going to the hospital to be checked out.
"Mark, (FG scolded) you have quite a nasty lump on your forehead, after what you've been through, don't you think it WOULD be better if you were checked out by a Doctor?"
"I'm alright FG, I just have a little headache. REALLY, it's nothing that serious." Multi answered trying to convince his friends, there was no need to worry.
After what had just happened and in light of Multi needing some rest, The Impossibles were escorted to their rooms.
But before they and FG were moved in, the rooms they would be staying in, were searched as thoroughly as possible, to make sure they contained no hidden doors and connecting passageways, which could be used by criminals to harm the boys and FG.
As Fluey, Coiley, Multi and FG were following the bodyguard Azeem had assigned them, walking from the Sultan's bedroom to the rooms that had been prepared for them, Multi was a little unsteady on his feet.
As they reach the door to their rooms, what he had just been through had caught up to Multi and he started to collapse.
It was lucky for Multi that FG was walking behind him.
"MARK what's wrong!" FG shouted out causing Fluey to turn around and catch him before he fell too far, or the redheaded Impossible would have landed hard, face first onto the floor.
While Rashid their bodyguard, ran to get the assistants to the Sultan's Doctor, Coiley helped Fluey carry Multi, who had passed out, into the bedroom of their apartment and carefully the two Impossibles put their unconscious band mate into one of the beds, removing his boots and jacket and covering him with a comforter.
FG pushed the call button of an intercom at the side of the big four-poster king size bed, to summon someone and instructed them to bring an ice bag and extra ice to refill it.
Both the Doctor and the Ice packs arrived about the same time.
After checking the red headed Impossible over from the bump on his forehead to the bruised ribs, the Doctor's recommendation to him (amid Multi's protests, as he had come to, mid-examination) was bed rest, for the remainder of the day and to keep the ice pack on the bump on Multi's temple until it reduced the swelling.
"We'll make sure he stays in bed" Fluey and Coiley said in unison.
Of course this response was rewarded with a "Thanks a lot!" kind of look from Multi, who hated the idea of staying put in bed, but his head was throbbing from the blackjack attack and so he decided to take the Doctor's advice for the moment.
The royal guards who hadn't accompanied the Sultan to the hospital were, under the direction of their commander Azeem, still searching for the princess.
They had split up into various search parties and were carefully exploring and mapping the labyrinth of tunnels and their entrances and exits, but so far at least there was no sign of Sandrina.
Worried about the security of the crown prince and the foreign visitors, Azeem reported his actions and their lack of success in locating Sandrina to Ali.
"I have a very bad feeling SHE, is still here in the palace, somewhere near, just waiting for another chance to strike, your highness! But from where?" Azeem said.
Suspecting, in the light of her actions in the Sultan's bedroom and knowing Sandrina's fervent desire to attain the throne by any means possible, that she might be lurking around anywhere, Ali replied, "That is the question Azeem. I don't have the answer right now, spread out and re-double your efforts and search any and all the possible places in the palace where someone her size could possibly be hidden that you can find, but keep a contingent of guards free and post them at every entrance with orders to be on the lookout for my renegade sister and at the door and the balcony to the Impossibles and FG's rooms to keep them safe."
"Yes Your Highness." Azeem bowed and saluted, before leaving the throne room to carry out the Prince's wishes.
Sandrina was still hiding on the second floor of the palace, in a secret room she had played in as a child, it was dusty and dank, (the door was disguised as part of the wall) but, no one else knew it was there and she would be safe for the time being.
Grumbling at her current circumstances, Sandrina began to loose it, all she wanted now, was revenge against Ali and those miserable do-gooder heroes, who had foiled all her plans, especially her brother's look-alike.
After making sure his guests were safely in their rooms and the guards were deployed properly, Ali went to the hospital to be with his father.
The ICU at the 'Star of the East Memorial Hospital' had been a flurry of activity from the time the Sultan had been brought in.
The Sultan was lying in bed in a private room hooked up to some IV's and a heart monitor to measure his vital signs.
Ali watched as the Doctors. took a series of readings, checking all the tests and trying to determine the best course of treatment.
They did warn the Prince that due to the Sultan's delicate condition, there wasn't a lot they could do.
"Do what you can." Ali said a sad tone to his voice.
"Your Highness, after all that has happened, you as well as your father need rest, I suggest that you return to the palace, I will call if any change occurs. (Promised the Doctor, adding in a hopeful tone) After all, where there is life, there is hope."
After returning to the palace, Ali was informed by the captain of the guard that after a more extensive search, there was still no sign of his sister, although the preliminary map of the tunnel system he was shown, gave credence to Azeem's claim that the royal guards had been diligent in their search.
"We've been over every part of the underground tunnels that we could find and it is as if she has completely disappeared Your Highness." Azeem said.
"My adoptive family are in the spice trade and we often have to deal with smugglers and other criminal types hiding themselves or their contraband in plane sight and I doubt that my sister is any different. She has after all had many years to explore the palace and undoubtedly, there are more tunnels under this old building than the ones you and your men have explored. We MUST assume that she will continue her misguided and dangerous crusade to claim the throne Azeem, So stay alert." Ali instructed.
"Yes your Highness!" Azeem answered the he bowed respectfully and left the throne room.
Sitting down on the steps leading up to the thrones of his birth father and mother, his princely bravado dropped for the moment, Ali pondered how his life had changed in the last few days.
After what had happened he wasn't sure he was equal to the task of running a country or even his father's kingdom, duty or not.
Ali realized as he saw two bodyguards standing near the entrance of the throne room, that, from the moment of his coronation he and Serina would never really have time for themselves, as any ordinary married couple did.
Not only would they be public domain, as far as being the rulers of Khakistan, but also guards for safety sake and advisors would always surround them so the country was run properly.
He also thought about his Fiancée and wondered how Serina would react to always having guards so close by to watch over them.
Chuckling to himself, he thought 'She isn't really the shy little thing that most people think when they first meet her.' Having known her for his entire life, Ali knew there were two sides to his raven-haired beauty.
'The first time one of those guards or anyone gets too much on her nerves they had better watch out, they'll have a tigress by the tale.' Ali thought smiling.
He recalled a time long past, as children, when he made the mistake of asserting too much male ego and got a black eye for his trouble.
He really missed Serina and as soon as he was sure Sandrina was no longer a threat and had been captured and it was safe, he would arrange for his beloved to join him.
In the Impossibles rooms, Multi spent nearly the whole afternoon and evening, except while having dinner, which had been brought in, resting in bed.
He had passed out, (due to the effects of the cowardly attack perpetrated by Sandrina's henchman) right after the Impossibles and FG and Skittles had reached their rooms and was now settled back in bed with another freshly made icepack on his forehead.
Having taken an aspirin he had fallen asleep, while Coiley and Fluey were talking over what had happened. "One things is sure clear enough, Sandrina is not about to let anything stop her from getting the throne any way she can." Fluey was saying.
The ornate clock on the wall, was striking seven as FG came into the boy's rooms from her room, which as connected by a couple of doors with a Bathroom in between both their rooms.
"That woman is crazy!" she said, in a low voice, having overheard what the boys were discussing, going over to Multi's bed to check on him.
Finding Multi asleep, she tiptoed over to the sofa where Fluey and Coiley were, sitting down next to her cousin.
Little did they know that they were being spied on.
None of the teenagers had paid any attention to the prominent painting on the far wall.
It was a portrait of a woman in traditional Middle Eastern dress, another relitave of Prince Ali's, with the eyes removed and replaced by the glaring eyes of Princess Sandrina who was listening to everything the teens were talking about.
Looking around thru the tiny peep holes, she spotted her brother's look-alike sitting on a small couch, next to that dark haired girl, his short blonde friend was standing near the end of the couch, she spotted the red headed one, in bed, with that little white dog of his, curled up next to him.
Reaching into her pocket Sandrina withdrew something which looked like a pistol, it was the air gun she had hidden in the playroom.
It was the same little weapon she had tried to use, to try to poison Fluey with, the year before.
This time it was loaded with a hypo-dart supplied to her by the thieves Guild which she had carried in a small compartment in her belt, containing a deadly compound a quick acting curare-like poison.
"THIS will take care of that interfering, impossible, Impossible!" she whispered wickedly to herself, as she poked the little metal gun, through and prepared to launch the small but deadly projectile, at the dark haired teen.
In looking thru the peepholes, she lined up her target but the opening was just big enough to sight and then fit the gun thru, so just as she lined up the sight on the gun with a spot on the back of Fluey's neck and began to press the trigger she didn't see Coiley move to stand just behind Fluey stepping into the line of fire…..