(The Nome King's Plan)

*Author's Note: A new arc begins! This arc is loosely based on the sixth book, The Emerald City of Oz*

*July 13th, 1906*

*Nome Kingdom*

One month has passed since Dorothy's last adventure in Oz, and all seemed to be well; however, one person wasn't so well, and it was Nome King who was in a furious mood.

"Kaliko! Get in here right now!" Nome King cried in fury, ringing the bell in hopes of alerting his servant to arrive at the scene, and to his luck, he did.

"G-Greetings, your majesty. What seems to be the trouble today?" Kaliko asked his ruler with a hint of fear yet politeness in his voice, bowing in the process; however, Nome King angrily threw his mini staff at the nome, hurting him.

"Fool! There's always trouble! What question is that?! I've brought you here to discuss my latest plan to crush Dorothy, Ozma. and the Emerald City!" Nome King responded angrily, stomping, while Kaliko quickly got up and began to speak.

"Why, of course. Please tell me the latest updates regarding the plan. We could finally let General Guph command the Nome Army after what seemed like forever." Kaliko responded to Nome King while rubbing his head to ease the pain. Nome King smiled gleefully after hearing those words, and thus, he began to explain his plan.

"Correct! We shall have Guph lead at least fifty thousand nome soldiers march to the Emerald City, destroy it, and finally, enslave Ozma and the rest of the residents of that darn place!" Nome King responded joyfully, laughing to himself as Kaliko was going to say something; however, a voice interrupted him, and it was General Guph himself.

"Your majesty, this sounds like a marvelous plan; however, we can't cross the Deadly Desert since anyone shall perish instantly. We need another alternative if we want to succeed in conquering the Emerald City." Guph advised Nome King, entering the room with a stern look. General Guph was a relatively short and slim nome.

He wore a red military suit that was decorated with green emeralds, and he had green eyes.

"Like I care?! Find a way across the Deadly Desert! I must have my revenge on Ozma, Dorothy, and the other fools who crushed my dreams of conquering Oz!" Nome King responded rather angrily while Guph laughed in his face, much to his annoyance.

"There's no other way to cross the Deadly Desert; however, I have one method. If we can drill a hole through our tunnels, we will eventually arrive at the Emerald City, and there, we can conquer Oz, and you'll be happy your majesty. Nome King was pleased while hearing this as he quickly jumped up and down in joy.

"That's it! My subjects shall build a tunnel under the desert right up to the Emerald City, and there, you and the nomes shall conquer the country!" Nome King responded joyfully while looking at Guph in his eyes, smiling at him.

"And shall we fail? Do you have a backup plan?" Guph responded, staring back at Nome King as he waited.

"Yes, I do. My little Nomes have spent countless months constructing him, and surely HE won't fail me. Come along. I must show you something.." Nome King responded, smiling at the general as he and

Guph began to walk over to a door that led to the construction room. Nome King and Guph entered the room, and there stood an entire large and booming room filled with many Nomes constructing plenty of shields, arrows, and a vast beast that appeared to be sleeping.

"See? This is the untapped power of the Nomes. Something that Ozma and Dorothy can't defeat. We can crush these fools with this power…" Nome King spoke to Guph with a hint of confidence while Guph gleefully smiled at what he saw.

"Hmmm, I see. And what do you call this magnificent beast? I've never seen the likes of this before." Guph asked Nome King while observing the beast with great interest as he could hear his master laughing before speaking.

"It's a special gift from the Growleywogs. This baby has the power and even cells from Dorothy, Ozma, Tin Woodman, and the other annoying folks. My blackbird has been spying on them for nearly a year while capturing Dorothy's precious two visits. In short, this ultimate weapon shall bring me victory!" Nome King responded, laughing at the idea of him winning, while Guph was unsure as he sighed to himself.

"Your majesty. You do realize that the Growleywogs never get along despite their vast intelligence. They might be a grand scheme to overwhelm us so they could have Ozma and the Emerald City for themselves." Guph warned Nome King while continuing to observe the ongoing construction of the mysterious creature.

"I'm aware. That's why I've created a special control device to keep the creation under my control. Something that the Growleywogs miscalculated." Nome King responded before smirking as he walked over and sat on his second throne.

Guph would follow him along to his second throne before sitting on the floor as he began to speak.

"Remember, I'm the only one in your dominions who can travel through the vast tunnels without getting lost, so be sure not to fire or hurt me until your wishes have been granted." Guph seriously advised Nome King, which made the little man raise an eyebrow with curiosity.

"Suppose you fail? What shall I do? This mission is built upon the success of you getting through those tunnels and into the Emerald City." Nome King responded, eyeing the general as he waited for an answer.

"Then I guess it's the slicing machine, and someone such as Kaliko shall take my place in my failure; however, I must ask you something." Guph responded, smiling at his ruler. This made Nome King get up from his throne rather angrily and walk toward the general.

"And what shall the question be?! Are you questioning my methods of punishment?!" Nome King asked Guph angrily, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him.

"The question is, what shall we do with Glinda? She is a good friend of Ozma and the others, and if she catches wind of the situation, all will be lost. Also, the trouble with you, Roquat. Is that you don't think far enough.." Guph answered with concern and annoyance, while Nome King's face was that of confidence.

"Oh? Don't worry. This is why I shall have you gather more men across Oz. The more forces we have, the more powerful we become; soon, we'll crush Glinda!" Nome King responded confidently while laughing before eventually letting go of Guph.

Guph felt slightly worried as he quickly got back up and glared at his masters.

"It will NOT be easy to overcome, Glinda. She's the MOST powerful witch in the entirety of Oz. It's suicide if we go for her.." Guph warned Nome King while. This seemed to have made the king conflicted in his thoughts.

"T-True; however, I'm sure that the gift from the Gwoleywogs can defeat Glinda, and if not, we could somehow turn her into an ornament.." Nome King responded rather nervously, twiddling his thumbs in the process while Guph sighed to himself.

"Well, the bright side is that Nomes are immortal, so we can't be killed by old age, sickness, and other things. So maybe we'll fight them until Ozma is tired. Also, our magic isn't as strong, but countless evil creatures with magic powers could help us." Guph explained to Nome King as this made him smile gleefully.

"Hmmm, I like it. But I also just thought of an idea. We can't defeat Glinda; however, we could persuade her using hostages.." Nome King responded, chuckling to himself while Guph began to walk away.

"I shall head out tomorrow morning to gather the allies tomorrow afternoon. I will ensure you'll be pleased." Guph spoke to his master for the final time before exiting the building while Nome King waved goodbye.

"Guph! You will be remembered as the best general I had in years! Your sacrifice and efforts won't go in vain," Nome King said before letting out a grin, feeling excited to conquer the Emerald City. Guph would continue to walk across the orangish area filled with Nomes working on their arrows and other things.

"I fear that this mission could lead to failure. How are we sure the people I gather will fully have our trust? Taking over Oz is a huge task, and most opposing yet weak countries might take the chance and seize our army.." Guph thought to himself while walking across the area before eventually arriving at his office.

"Perhaps I should start with the Whimises tomorrow afternoon since they were so kind to give their DNA to the weapon we're creating.." Guph spoke to himself for the final time before entering his office, where he remained for the rest of the day.

*July 14th, 1906*

*Kansas*

*1:26 pm*

The next day arrived, and Uncle Henry and Aunt Em were sitting in front of their porch, staring into the beautiful prairies of Kansas; however, their faces were not of a state of relaxation, rather one of fear and sadness.

The reason for this was the letter Uncle Henry held that detailed their eviction…