Backstage, Multi managed to find the power switch, and he turned the lights back on. Before he and Coiley could get back to the gig, they heard Skittles barking. Multi and Coiley walked over to the back door, and saw the sultan's guards, leaving the premises, with the captain carrying a large burlap bag.
"Hollerin' hi-fis!" Multi shouted. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Coiley?"
"Darn right," Coiley said. "Let's go!"
Multi and Coiley immediately dropped their guitars, and raced for the Impossi-Mobile. Skittles was right behind them. Coiley took off down the street, in order to catch up with the guards, who were loading the bag into the back of their truck.
"Uh oh," one said. "Captain, they've spotted us."
"We'll take the long way," the captain said. "We'll be able to lose them when we get to the bridge."
The guards climbed into their truck, and took off. But the two Impossibles stuck to them.
"Floor it, Coiley!" Multi shouted.
"I am, I am!" Coiley yelled.
Skittles barked, launched into super speed, and jumped out to the back of the Impossi-Mobile, and actually started pushing it, while Coiley had the gas pedal to the floorboard. The sultan's guards passed the bridge the captain had referred to, and stopped once they got across.
"We've got 'em now!" Coiley shouted.
"That's what you think, Chubby," the captain of the guards said, opening a small door on the bridge post, and pushing a button on it. It happened to be a moveable bridge, the kind that rose whenever large boats were passing underneath them.
"Uh oh!" Coiley shouted, slamming on the brakes. Skittles immediately skidded to a halt as well.
"Convert to Impossi-Jet, Coiley," Multi said. "We've got to stop them!"
"Right!" Coiley shouted, pushing a button in the car, converting it to the Impossi-Jet. They took off into the air.
"Impossible!" the captain of the guards shouted, as he looked up and saw the Impossi-Jet. "I thought for sure . . . ."
"I've got an idea," the guard driving the truck said. Then, he swerved, going through a small opening in a stone wall. It was too low for the Impossi-Jet and it crashed right into the wall. Then it hit the ground, and Coiley realized the opening was too small for the Impossi-Mobile to get through as well.
"Looks like it's up to Skittles," Multi said. "She's the only one who can catch them now. Go to it, Impossi-Pup!"
Skittles barked three times, back flipped, and transformed to Impossi-Pup. Then she shot through the opening while Multi and Coiley checked out the damage to the Impossi-Jet. A few minutes later, Skittles came back, whimpering.
"What's wrong, Skittles?" Multi asked. "Did you lose them?"
Skittles nodded, and whimpered some more. Multi picked her up, and stroked her back.
"It's okay, girl," he said. "At least you tried."
"At least we know where they're going," Coiley said.
"Right," Multi said. "We'd better head for the palace."
Multi and Coiley jumped into the Impossi-Mobile, and took off down the street, looking for the palace.
And speaking of the palace, that's where the guards had just arrived. They threw the burlap sack to the floor of the throne room, and released Fluey from it. He was a bit dizzy and disoriented.
"Forgive the abrupt way you were brought here," the captain of the guards said. "But we had very little choice."
"Okay, so you've got me here," Fluey said, standing up. "Now what are you gonna do with me?"
"We're going to take you to the sultan."
"This is ridiculous. I haven't even done anything! What does he want with me, anyway?!"
"You will soon find out, young one."
Fluey sighed, and followed the captain of the guards to the throne room. It was probably the only way he was going to find out what was going on. Upon entering the throne room, the captain bowed to the sultan, and to Sandrina, who was also in the room. Fluey noticed she didn't look very pleased. As a matter of fact, she looked pretty ticked off. The last time Fluey saw an expression that angry was when he and Multi broke into Multi's older sister's diary and read it (they were only thirteen at the time).
"Allow me to present," the captain of the guards said. "The sultan of Khakistan, his royal majesty Khazaiah Sayedso, and his daughter, the princess Sandrina."
"Welcome to my palace, young man," the sultan said.
"Some welcome!" Fluey shouted. "You call being dragged somewhere against their will a welcome?!"
"My apologies for that," the sultan said. "Be assured my intentions are not for evil purposes."
"Okay, just what am I doing here, anyway?"
"Sixteen years ago, my son, Prince Ali, was taken from his cradle when he was a baby. He has not been seen since."
"So . . . . what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, how old are you?"
"Sixteen. But I still don't understand."
"That is how old my son would be."
"Hey, whoa, wait, hold the phone here! You don't honestly think that I could . . . . I mean . . . . it's not possible! It just can't be . . . . can it?"
"Captain, show him the picture," the sultan said. The captain of the guards nodded, and left the room for a moment. Fluey was still plenty confused over this. A minute later, the captain returned with a photo.
"This is a photo of the sultan when he was sixteen," he explained, handing Fluey the photo. His lower jaw nearly made a dent in the floor when he saw it.
"Holy Mesopotamia!" he yelled the minute he got his wits back. "He . . . . he looks just like me! This can't be happening. This just can't be happening! I don't know how this . . . . listen, sultan, seriously, I'm not who you think I am. This is just some big coincidence, I'm sure of it!"
"Captain, take the prince to his room, and see that he is properly attired," the sultan said.
"Yes, sire," the captain said, and he started to lead Fluey out of the throne room.
"Hold it a minute here!" Fluey protested. "There's got to be some kind of mistake! I'm not this Prince Ali, or whatever his name is!"
But no one was listening, except Sandrina. She turned to her father.
"Are you positive he's Ali, Father?" she asked. "By the way he's protesting . . . ."
"We can not expect him to remember," the sultan said. "After all, he was barely a week old when he was taken."
Sandrina had to agree on that one, but she still wasn't satisfied. All she knew was that this teenager could be her brother, and if it was, he would become sultan once Khazaiah Sayedso died, and it would ruin her chances to become queen.
"You'll regret returning to Khakistan, Ali," she grumbled, as she walked down the hall to her room. "I swear that I will be the ruler of this country!"
Meanwhile, Multi, Coiley, and Skittles had just arrived at the palace, and they saw it was being heavily guarded.
"How are we going to get in?" Coiley asked.
"It would be easier with our superhero identities," Multi said. "But we can't change without Fluey."
"Remind me to talk to the SSHQ scientists about that when we get home," Coiley said. "They have got to come up with something that will allow us to change if we happen to be separated when we need to do the superheroics."
Skittles began barking. She was not going to take this sitting down. She leapt out of Multi's arms, and raced for the gates.
"Skittles!" Multi shouted. "Skittles, come back here!"
Multi and Coiley got out of the Impossi-Mobile, and started chasing the little puppy, but Skittles was moving too fast for them, and the guards stopped them right away.
"Halt!" one shouted. "Who goes there?!"
"It's those two boys from the band," the other guard said. "What are you doing here?"
"We're looking for our friend," Multi said. "And my dog just ran inside the palace, and we've got to get her before she hurts someone."
"That little puppy of yours?" the first guard asked with a laugh. He had seen Skittles, but he hadn't seen her in action.
"How could she hurt someone?" he asked.
"She can move at super speed, and is liable to knock someone over if she doesn't stop in time," Coiley said. "That, and she could also break something if she's not careful."
"Sorry, boys," the other guard said. "But no one is allowed inside, unless the sultan or the princess are expecting them, and I honestly don't think they'd be expecting you two."
"Well, Multi, what do you suggest?" Coiley asked.
"I hate to do this, but we don't have a choice," Multi said. "We're going to have to do what Fluey generally does when he's cornered and can't transform."
Coiley nodded. He didn't like doing it, either, and he and Multi knew they could wind up in big trouble, but there was no alternative. They punched the two guards in the face, knocking them out, and ran for the palace. They approached the door, and found a hole in the bottom of it.
"Looks like Skittles found a way in," Coiley commented, as he opened the door. "Let's go!"
"Halt!" another guard shouted. "Intruders!"
"Uh oh," Multi said. "We'd better get going, Coiley!"
"Right!" Coiley shouted, and he and Multi ran off down the corridor with the guards hot on their heels.
As that was going on, Fluey was being led back to the throne room, now that he had been "properly attired," which was basically a green short-sleeved shirt underneath a blue vest with gold trim, a dark green belt tied around his waist, blue pants, and a gold band around his head. He kept his boots, however.
"Man, I look like something out of an episode of I Dream of Jeannie," he said. "This whole Arabian Nights thing just isn't my style."
"You'll get used to it," the sultan said.
"I doubt it," Fluey mumbled, but he walked up to a throne next to the sultan's and sat down. It was about all he could do at the time. He had to think of a way to convince the sultan he wasn't Prince Ali, but he couldn't think of how. As he was thinking it over, both he, and the sultan heard barking coming from the hallway.
"What in the world is that?" the sultan asked.
Fluey stood up for a minute, and started walking toward the hallway, when a flash of light suddenly zoomed in, and knocked him to the floor. It was Skittles, and she immediately began licking Fluey's face.
"Okay, Skittles, okay!" he laughed, as he pulled the puppy off him for a minute. "I'm happy to see you, too!"
"There she is," Multi said, as he and Coiley came into the room. Then the two of them saw Fluey.
"Fluey, are you okay?" Multi asked, as he helped his friend off the floor.
"What are you wearing?" Coiley asked. "You look like something out of an episode of I Dream of Jeannie."
"Yeah, I know, I know," Fluey said. "Listen, fellas, I can explain this, but trust me, you're not gonna believe it."
Before Fluey could say another word, the guards rushed in.
"There they are!" one shouted. "Arrest them for trespassing!"
"Whoa, hold it!" Fluey shouted. "They're my friends. You can't arrest them."
"But your highness . . . ." one of the guards said.
"Highness?!" Multi and Coiley shouted in perfect unison, and then shot Fluey a weird look. Fluey just shrugged.
"It's okay," he said, turning to the guards. "Just trust me."
"All right," the guard said, and he and the others left.
"Your highness?" Coiley repeated. "Fluey, what's going on?"
"Allow me to explain, gentlemen," the sultan said. "It would appear that your friend is my missing son, Prince Ali. He is the same age."
"Yeah, and look at this photo," Fluey said, handing the photo of the sultan to his friends.
"Jumpin' jukebox!" Coiley shouted suddenly.
"If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it," Multi said. "Fluey, you look exactly like the sultan when he was a teenager!"
"I know," Fluey said. "But it's just got to be a coincidence. I just can't be this Prince Ali. I mean, you guys also know I can't be him, right?"
Multi and Coiley looked at each other. They weren't quite sure what to think. Finally, Multi spoke up.
"Uhh, Fluey . . . ." he said, a little hesitantly. "I'm not exactly sure how to say this . . . . but . . . . well . . . ."
"You know how you live with your Aunt Tillie?" Coiley asked. "And the fact that she's not your real aunt, just your guardian?"
"Yeah, she's a friend of my parents," Fluey said. "I live with her because my parents died when I was three."
"Adopted parents," Coiley corrected.
"Yeah," Fluey said, shrugging. "Adopted parents. I don't know what you're getting at with this, fellas, I mean, you guys know as well as I do that I was left on the doorstep of the children's home when I was a baby, and nobody knows who my birth parents really are."
Suddenly, Fluey realized what just came out of his mouth.
"Holy Mesopotamia!" he shouted. "That means that I . . . . it's . . . . . but . . . . but I can't be! It's just . . . . I . . . . I . . . . oooohhhh!"
Fluey suddenly crashed to the floor in a dead faint. The realization that he could possibly be Prince Ali of Khakistan was just too much for him.