The travelers watched in horror as a cloud of huge Flying Monkeys approached — it was impossible to fight these monsters, because they flew in the air.

The Monkeys swooped down in a mass, and with a squeal, they pounced on their bewildered friends. Neither could come to the aid of the other, as all had to fight off the enemies.

The Tin Woodman swung his huge axe in vain, trying to hit the enemies. The Monkeys clung to him from all sides, tore the axe from his hands, lifted the poor Woodman high in the air and threw him into a deep gorge, on sharp rocks. Goode Curley was in pieces. After him, his iron axe flew into the gorge.

Another part of Monkeys dealt with the Scarecrow. He fought back with the pole, but could not do any damage. The Flying Monkeys gutted him, scattered the straw to the wind, and threw his coat, head, shoes, hat, and pole to the top of a tall tree.

The Lion and the Tiger were whirling about and roaring so menacingly that the Flying Monkeys dared not approach them. But they contrived, threw ropes on the Lion, and on the Tiger vengestone chains that blocked his elemental forces, knocked him to the ground, entangled his paws, gagged his mouths, lifted him into the air and carried him in triumph to the palace of Bastinda. There they were both put behind a mystic stone grate, and they rolled on the floor in a rage, trying to chew through the bonds and break the chains.

Nikita fought off the enemies as best he could. There was no time to use the aliens, so we had to fight back with weapons. The boy shot flying Monkeys with a bow, slashed with a sword and beat the flying ones with his fists — The Monkeys were afraid to fly up to him, since they had not met such opponents for a long time. But the two large Monkeys still managed to sneak up behind them. One of them hit Nikita hard on the back of the head with her fist. It flew off and fell to the ground. Blood flowed from the back of his head, and Nikita himself barely maintained his consciousness. The bow fell from his hand, and the sword flew to the side and entered the nearby stone to the hilt. The second Monkey tried to pull the sword out of the stone. In an instant, both were reduced to ash.

Terrified, Ellie waited for a brutal reprisal, watching as one by one her friends suffered defeats. Toto, Taffy, and Kaggi-Carr were ready to protect the girl. Seeing that Nikita was wounded, Ellie rushed to him.

- Nikita! — Stop it! " she shouted, turning him over. "Don't die, please, don't!"

"It'll be all right, Ells," he whispered through the pain. He took from his pocket the coin he had found with the Omnitrix and placed it in the hand of the tearful girl. "Get out of here." Take Toto, Kaggi-Carr, and Taffy and run for the mountains. These macaques won't get you there.

"No, I'm not leaving you here," Ellie said tearfully. She stroked the boy's hair, which was red with blood.

"Our case is lost," Nikita said even more quietly. "Goode and the Scarecrow are dead, and the Lion and the Tiger are captured. The coin I gave you will protect you from danger, it has saved me more than once. I don't know how, but it heals. It gave me the opportunity to last so long. It will protect you from your wounds.

— No, I can't lose another friend!" — Stop it! " the tearful girl screamed. — You are very brave, strong, resourceful... I... I love you!

"Me, too," the boy laughed. - Remember one thing — I did not like you for your beauty, although nature did not deprive you of it. I loved you for your kindness, for your kind heart and soul. Everyone, run faster.

Nikita pulled Ellie's face up to his and kissed her on the cheek. He had no more strength left and fell on his back. Toto, Taffy, and Kaggi-Carr were also very upset — Nikita became a good friend to them. Ellie kissed the collapsing superhero on the forehead and wanted to run away, but it was too late. The leader of the Flying Apes himself rushed at her and already stretched out his long paws with sharp claws to Ellie's throat. Then he saw the silver shoes on Ellie's feet, and his face twisted with fear. Warra leaped back, blocking Ellie from the others, and shouted:

— You can't touch the girl!" She's A Fairy!

— But what do we do with the boy?" one of the Monkeys asked.

"We'll have to finish it off," said Warra, looking disappointed. "And these are to be taken to Bastinda."

The Monkeys approached graciously and even respectfully, carefully picked up Ellie, along with Toto, Taffy, and Kaggi-Carr, and raced to Bastinda's Purple Palace, leaving a few Monkeys to finish off Nikita.

— Why did you do that?! Ellie shouted, slapping Warra, who was carrying her, across the massive chest. — Why did you kill my friends?"

"Understand, girl, we had no other choice," the pack leader said, disappointed.

When the Flying Monkeys flew far enough away, a furious roar was heard from behind. Ellie couldn't figure out who it was. The roar was followed by a huge explosion consisting of the green energy that the Tiger had created in the Forest of Sabertoothed Tigers and Kalidas. The monkeys barely managed to fly away from there. After reaching Basta, the capital of the Purple Country, the pack headed for Bastinda's palace. Flying through the window of Bastinda's room, the leader of the Flying Monkeys put the girl and the animals on the ground. The enraged sorceress swore at him. Warra said:

"Your order has been obeyed. We smashed the iron man, gutted the scarecrow, beat the boy, caught the Lion and the Tiger. But we can't lay a finger on the girl and the three animals; you know what misfortunes are in store for anyone who offends the owner of the silver shoes and those he protects. We have brought the prisoners to you; do with them as you will.

- Couldn't touch it?! Bastinda screamed. — I ordered you to kill everyone except the Lion and the Tiger!" You don't even think about it, you're alive and well!

- Don't tell me! Warra objected. — One of them, a boy, killed one-tenth of our pack with his sword, bow, and fists alone. In any case, we have fulfilled your last wish. Goodbye forever!

With a cry, the monkeys rose into the air and flew away.

Bastinda looked down at Ellie's feet and shivered with fear: she made sure she was wearing Gingema's silver shoes.

"After all, they got to her! Bastinda thought, confused. — Did that frail girl really put her house under the mighty Gingema, the lady of the Munchkins?" And yet she's wearing shoes! It's too bad, because I can't lay a finger on a cheeky girl and her friends while she's wearing magic shoes! It's a good thing that boy isn't here."

She shouted:

"Hey, you! Come here! What's your name?

Ellie looked up at the evil sorceress, her eyes were full of tears:

- Ellie!

"Tell me, Ellie, how did you get hold of my sister Gingema's shoes?" Bastinda shouted, pretending to be surprised, as if she didn't know the whole story.

Ellie blushed deeply.

"Really, Miss Bastinda, it's not my fault. My house fell on your sister on Miss Villina's orders and crushed her…

— So that's how Gingema died... " the evil sorceress whispered.

Bastinda didn't particularly like her sister and hadn't seen her in years. She was afraid that the girl in the silver shoes would bring death to her too! But when she looked at Ellie's kind, tearful face, Bastinda calmed down.

"She doesn't know anything about the mysterious power of the shoes," the sorceress decided. — If I manage to get hold of them, I will become even more powerful than before, when I had wolves, crows, black bees, and the Golden Cap combined!"

The old woman's eyes glittered with greed, and her fingers curled as if they were already pulling off Ellie's shoes.

"Listen to me, Ellie girl! she croaked hoarsely. — I will keep you as a slave, and if you do not work well, I will beat you with a stick and put you in a dark cellar, where the rats are huge, greedy rats!" "they'll eat you and gnaw your tender bones!" Hee-hee-hee! Do you understand me?

"Don't give me to the rats!" I will obey you.

The girl could not remember herself from fear and tears.

Just then, Bastinda noticed Toto, Taffy, and Kaggi-Carr huddled timidly at Ellie's feet.

— What kind of animals are they?" the evil sorceress asked angrily.

"This is my dog Toto, my mouse Taffy, and my crow Caggy-Carr," Ellie said, looking startled. "They're good. And they love me very much…

"Hmmm... hmmm..." the sorceress grumbled. — I've never seen a beast like your Toto." And here's my order: let that dog, as you call it, the mouse, and the crow stay away from me, or they'll be the first to get into the basement with the rats! Now follow me!"

Bastinda led the prisoners through the rooms of the palace, where everything was purple-the walls, the carpets, the furniture — and where Winkies stood at the doors in purple caftans, bowing to the floor at the entrance of the sorceress and blinking pitifully after her. Finally, Bastinda led the girl into a dark, dirty kitchen.

— You will clean pots, pans and pans, wash the floor and heat the stove! My cook has been in need of an assistant for a long time!

And leaving Ellie half dead with fright, Bastinda went to the back yard, rubbing her hands.

— I gave the girl a good scare!" Now I will subdue the Lion and the Tiger, and all six will be in my hands!

Ellie sat down on the floor and continued to cry. She had lost three of the best friends she could have ever dreamed of, and she had fallen in love with one!

The Cowardly Lion and the Elemental Tiger had already chewed through the bonds and broken the chains, and were lying in the far corner of the cage. When they saw Bastinda, their eyes lit up with an evil fire.

"Oh, what a pity I haven't got the courage yet,"thought the Lion bitterly," I would have repaid the old witch in full for the death of the Scarecrow, Goode, and Nikita!" He signaled to the Tiger, and they huddled together, ready to spring.

The old woman entered through the small door of the cage.

"Hey, you Lion and Tiger, listen up! " she mumbled. — You are both my prisoners!" I'll hitch you to a buggy and ride you around on holidays so that the Winkies can talk: "Look how powerful our lady Bastinda is — she even managed to harness a huge Lion and an Elemental Tiger!»

While Bastinda was talking, the Lion and the Tiger opened their mouths, bristled their manes and fur on the back of their necks, and leaped at the sorceress, roaring:

— We'll kill you!"

They missed Bastinda by a hair's breadth. The frightened old woman shot out of the cage and quickly slammed the door. Panting with fright, she shouted through the bars:

"Oh, you damned things! You don't know me yet! I'll starve you, Lion, and I'll ruin your life, Tiger, if you don't agree to ride in a team!

— We'll kill you!" - said the Lion and the Tiger, and rushed to the grate, trying to break it.

The old woman trotted into the palace, grumbling and cursing.

"Tiger, friend, try to break this cage with your elements —" the Lion suggested.

"No use, — the elemental spirit replied. — It's made of vengestone, a material that can block any superpowers. I don't know how Bastinda got it, but we can't get out of here without help. We'll have to wait…