In the ornament chamber, there was a midst of warm and loving embraces shared by friends from Oz, until the chamber began to shake. A low rumbling noise shook beneath their feet as the noise got louder and louder.
"Uh, Tiger, old buddy," said the Lion nervously. "Please tell me that's your stomach."
"If it was my stomach, it wouldn't make the room shake," replied the Tiger.
In the throne room, the fossil tile started to come down and nearly crushed the caged Mombi and Langwidere.
"Wheelers, help me! Get me outta here!" cried Langwidere.
But the frightened wheelers turned and retreated back through the tunnel they came through, followed close by the terrified winged baboons.
"Come back here, you cowards!" shouted Mombi, but neither the wheelers nor the winged baboons came back for them. So Mombi took matters into her own hands and used the broomstick scepter to cast a spell and melt the cage surrounding her. Then she did the same thing to Langwidere's cage.
"This is place is gonna come down!" shouted Langwidere. "Let's get outta here!"
"You get outta here while I find Dorothy!" yelled Mombi.
"Why?"
"Because I still have a score to settle with her!"
Back in the ornament chamber, the Gump trotted over to Dorothy, looking worried.
"Dorothy!"
"What's happening?"
"Technically, I was gonna ask you the same thing!"
Ornaments everywhere fell from their spots, shattering to pieces, as the rumbling and the shaking became more violent.
"Wha…wha…oh no." The Scarecrow had a hard time stuffing Billina into his jacket but lost his balance due to the quake.
"Let's get outta here!" cried Wiser. "Where's the exit?"
"You're the smart guy, you figure it out!" retorted the China Princess.
Two more vases from the top shelf wobbled tediously. They were nearing the edge and close enough to fall right on the unsuspecting Dorothy.
"Dorothy!" The Scarecrow made a mad dash through the room until he made it to Dorothy, shielding his arms around her to protect her from the two falling vases that slipped off the shelf and shattered on his back.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, with deep concern.
"I'm fine, thanks," Dorothy replied.
"I'm okay too if anybody's asking," grumbled Woodenhorse, who had gotten hit on the head by one of the falling vases.
A hue crack split open the wall, shaking lose some huge chunks of carved white rock, and the light in the room changing to a menacing fiery red color.
Suddenly, the head of the much larger and giant Nome King materialized before them. Fire burned all around him as he gazed at the Oz troupe with a raging look in his eyes.
"STOP! RIGHT! THERE!" He bellowed in a very deep voice.
The tiny group stared up at him complete horror.
"Oh, fudge," trembled Marshal Mallow.
"Hey! Watch your language, marshmallow boy," scolded the Lion.
"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" The Nome King hollered angrily. "I'M TIRED OF GAMES! I'M TIRED OF ALL OF YOU! BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO SO BADLY, HOW ABOUT THE SOFA GOES FIRST!?"
His large fossil hand grabbed the end of the Gump's sofa body and attempted to pick him up. But Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion all grabbed hold of the Gump's front head, and it seemed like a brief game of tug of war started between the adversaries. Finally, the Lion used his sharp claws to cut the ropes that bounded the Gump's head to the sofa. The ropes broke loose and the Gump's head fell into the Tin Man's arms. Everyone watched in horror as the Nome King lifted the sofa to his huge mouth and swallowed it whole, and then let out a big belch.
"If I had a stomach, I'd know I'd be sick," said the frightened Gump.
"Then I'm glad you don't have a stomach," retorted the Tin Man, who didn't want to have the Gump vomit on him.
"NEXT, PUMPKINHEAD!"
"Nooo!" Jack screamed as the Nome King's hand came back down for him. "Help me, mommy!"
Dorothy grasped the pumpkinman's wrist and dragged him down another room. "Everyone, run!" she screamed.
The Oz troupe immediately raced after Dorothy and Jack through a collapsing hallway; Dorothy grasping Jack's wrist, the Scarecrow running beside her to protect her, the Tin Man and Mallow carrying both China Princess and the Gump, Tiktok and Woodenhorse right behind them, Wiser stumbling and waddling as he ran to keep up his pace, and both the Lion and the Tiger ran on all fours.
"NOOOOOOMES!"
Gargoyle-like monsters emerged from the stone walls at the command of their king. The nome monsters all growled and screeched threateningly at the Oz troupe, making them halt in their tracks.
"Back! Go back!" The Scarecrow urged his friends desperately. "Run this way!"
The entire troupe changed their direction and dashed down another room. But again their path was blocked by more nome monsters. Looking around, Dorothy directed her friends to run through an open path. Without sword or axe, the Tin Man and Mallow could not defend themselves or the ones they held in their arms. Luckily for them, the Lion and the Tiger roared and snarled bravely against the mob of the nomes that roared and hissed ferociously at them and reached their claw-like hands out to try and grab them.
While being held back by the snarling nomes, the Scarecrow could see the Nome King reaching his hand for the pumpkin-headed man. "Watch out, Jack!"
Jack screamed and stood frozen with fear when he saw the Nome King's giant hand. Dorothy stumbled back when Jack stopped moving. Jack covered his eyes so he wouldn't see it coming. But just as the Nome King could pick him up…
"Wait!" Dorothy leapt in between Jack and the giant fossil hand, holding her hands up in defense. "I'm the one who's ruined your plan to rule Oz. I've been so reckless in the rescue of my friends that I broke a promise to a friend for not staying out of trouble and I've put them in danger. And I'm the one responsible for the fall of Oz. After all, I was careless enough to leave the ruby slippers on your mountain…"
The Oz troupe froze as they let Dorothy's words sink in. Their expressions were a mixture of shock and disbelief. Only Jack, Tiktok, Woodenhorse, the Tiger, the Gump, and Billina knew this, but the rest of the group couldn't help but feel betrayed and upset, mostly the Scarecrow.
"Dorothy…!" A rising anger could be heard in his voice when he spoke again. "You…broke your promise to me!"
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, GIRL!?" The Nome King interrupted, his voice shaking the whole room.
"I'm saying…" Dorothy hesitated, knowing the biggest risk she was about to make, but if it could it would make amends for her mistakes and it was much worse than Dr. Worley's shock treatment. "Eat me instead."
"WHAT!?" Her friends cried out in sudden alarm.
The Nome King looked down at her and chuckled evilly. "AS YOU WISH." With one swift grab, the Nome King had Dorothy in his grasp.
"No, stop! Let her go!" The Scarecrow, having let go of his anger and now dreaded with terror, locked hold onto the king's large finger, also being pulled up with Dorothy, all the way up to the giant face. The Nome King knew this but he didn't care because he knew he was going to kill two of his next victims. Looking down, the Scarecrow and Dorothy screamed at the burning abyss down the monster's throat.
"NO!" Everyone down below yelled as all they could do was helplessly watch their friends meeting their demise.
"Scarecrow, let go!" Dorothy pleaded to her friend.
"Never!" The Scarecrow yelled firmly. "I will never let you go, Dorothy! I love you!"
Dorothy was stuck back when she heard those three words. But the moment of this feeling ended quickly as the monster laughed evilly and much louder, slowly lowering them closer to his open jaws.
Inside the strawman's jacket, Billina got so scared that she, for the first time in days, laid an egg. The Scarecrow felt her do this and an idea came to him. With one gloved hand grasping Dorothy's arm, the other gloved hand reached into his straw stuffed jack, drew out the egg, and hurled it straight into the monster's open mouth.
All of a sudden, everything went quiet. The Nome King, having seen what the Scarecrow had done, shut his mouth and released both Dorothy and the Scarecrow, both of them tumbling down the rocky hillside and sliding onto the floor.
Every nome monster surrounding the Oz troupe shrunk back and groaned in fear and dismay, suddenly disintegrating.
"Poison… poison… poison…" Was the last thing the nome monsters grieved.
"AN EGG?" The Nome King recoiled in horror
The Scarecrow helped Dorothy to her feet and led her back to their friends, all quickly giving them hugs of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness," sighed the Tin Man.
When Billina poked her head out from the Scarecrow's jacket she clucked, "Dorothy, I've finally laid my egg! Hey, where is everybody so quiet?"
Everyone looked up at the giant Nome King, who began to fall and crumble apart. "DON'T…YOU…KNOW…THAT…EGGS…ARE…POISON…?"
"Poison indeed," scoffed Billina in disbelief.
"…POISON TO NOMES!?"
With those last words, the Nome King disintegrated and crumbled and fell into pieces, wailing loudly in death and agony, and flames exploded around him. Silence filled the room as everyone stared in bewilderment of the Nome King's unexpected demise.
"Well that happened," said Billina.
There was a bright red glow within the pile of rocks. Dorothy knew what it was and instantly rushed toward the rock pile. Digging through, she found and pulled out the ruby slippers. She held them in her hands as if they were like long lost precious toys.
"Dorothy, put them on and use them to get us outta here," said the Scarecrow.
The girl yanked off her old farm boots and slipped her dainty feet into the magic slippers, still fitting her as perfectly as they had always had.
"Nicely done, straw head. You figured out the Nome Jerk's weakness."
Everyone whirled around and saw Mombi casually leaning against the wall, twirling her broomstick in the air.
"Weakness?" Dorothy looked at her puzzled.
"The Nome King hates chickens because they can lay eggs," explained Mombi, "and eggs are poisonous to nomes. What, you think the Nome Jerk was allergic to eggs or something?"
"Uh, no."
"Well, enough said. It's time for my payback." The wicked witch sneered as she raised her scepter above her head, its orb magically changing from the sickly green color to a devilish red color.
"Leave her alone!" The Scarecrow yelled, shoving Dorothy in Wiser's arms to keep her out of harm's way, and glared daggers at the witch.
"If you mess with Dorothy, you mess with us!" The Tin Man put up his dukes as he stood by his friend's side, ready to fight the witch.
"The rest of you guys get Dorothy outta here while we keep witchy busy!" The Lion growled as he got down on all four legs ready to pounce.
The rest of the troupe nodded in understanding, but Dorothy was greatly worried about her friends' safety and wanted to help them, but Wiser and Mallow held her back.
"Guys, you won't stand a chance against Mombi!" cried Dorothy.
"Dorothy, get out now!" barked the Scarecrow.
"Do as he says, Dorothy," advised Mallow, "because that's an order.
It was then Mombi came up with a very wicked and vicious idea, one that she can use to get rid of Dorothy forever.
"Curse thou girl… curse thy fear… curse her who has brought me tears…"
While she uttering the incantation, Mombi waved the scepter in small circles and the scepter's orb began to glow a darker green
"…curse who has done me wrong… make her punishment strong… this is my will so mote it be!"
Dorothy could not bear to stand by and witness such a horrifying event. She broke free from Wiser and Mallow's grasps, and lunged forward, as if she were flying through the wind. Just after an electrifying red light shot out from the scepter's orb, a bright red light flashed from the slippers Dorothy wore, hitting the green light's path head on. A shadow of green light flooded Dorothy's body and the rest of it rocketed off her body and struck the surprised Mombi squarely. Both women fell swiftly to the floor and the witch's blood curdling scream of pain and defeat shattered the air. The broomstick clattered to the floor, its sickly green color faded away when its owner had died.
The Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion were incredibly shocked and devastated to what just happened and the three rushed to Dorothy's body.
"Dorothy!" The Scarecrow propped her in his arms and looked at her. She lay in his straw stuffed arms, motionless and still. "No, no, no, no, no!" The King of Oz stammered in alarm. "You can't be…!"
The rest of the group stared down at the girl's body, grief-stricken. China Princess buried her head in Mallow's chest, crying softly.
Suddenly, the rooftops began to crumble and fall. Debris and stone collapsed to the floor, and the rest of the walls were tearing up. A large piece of debris would have crushed the broomstick had Jack not picked it up in time.
"This whole place is gonna fall! We gotta get outta here!" shouted the Tiger.
"But with Dorothy down, she can't use the slippers to get us out!" retorted the Lion.
"Lion, click the heels three times!" exclaimed the Scarecrow.
"What!? You want me to take them off and put them on my feet!? Forget it! I'm not comfortable in women's shoes! And personally I don't think women shoes flatter the Nome King anyway!"
"What he means is grab her feet and click her heels three times!" yelled the Tin Man in annoyance.
"Well you could've just said so." The Lion rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"JUST DO IT!" shrieked the Scarecrow.
"Okay, fine. Geez!" The Lion picked up Dorothy's limp legs and said out loud, "I wish we were all out of here and back in Oz, lickety-split! And for the Emerald City, its emeralds, and all the people there restored!"
Clicking her heels three times, there was a flash of red light, and instantly, the inhabitants from Oz left the collapsing chamber and mountain just in the nick of time.