(The Nome King)

*October 22nd, 1905*

*Edge of Ev*

Dorothy and her friends stood in front of the Iron Giant as they were ready to do battle while Hungry Tiger, Billina and Tik-Tok were watching from the chariot.

"Do you guys have a death wish or something?! It's best to turn back before things get ugly!" Billina had warned her friends in a tone of concern while Tik-Tok quickly had given her reassurance.

"Don't not be afraid, they will prevail. That I can tell you.." Tik-Tok had spoken to Billina as the pair had continued to watch the upcoming battle against Iron Giant.

"Alright, let's defeat this hunk of junk so we can save the Ev family!" Dorothy had spoken out to her friends while the giant hammer had swung down on her; however, Ozma managed to get her out of harm's way thus beginning the battle.

"Make sure Dorothy is safe! She's unable to fight against the Iron Giant! I'll use my ax to distract it!" Tin Woodman had cried out to his friends as he quickly ran across the wasteland before throwing his ax at Iron Giant with such force which only grazed him as the machine man began to laugh while also seeing Tin Woodman catching the ax with his hand.

"How foolish! A measly ax would never harm me! You'll have to do better than that!" Iron Giant had spoken out while attempting to swing his giant ax towards his target; however, Tin Woodman quickly dodged it with ease as he realized that this battle wasn't gonna be easy.

"He's too fast and big! Even with my upgraded ax, there's no way we'll be able to defeat him.." Tin Woodman had thought to himself while looking up to see Iron Giant slowly approaching him; however, this was stopped by a blast from Ozma as she had used her staff as this managed to hit the giant machine and with that, Ozma had a huge change of plans in regards to Iron Giant.

"Tin Woodman! I'll distract him while you and the others continue on, I'll catch up!" Ozma had advised to her friend in a cautious tone of voice as this prompted Tin Woodman to nod his head before quickly running towards the direction they was originally heading at while Dorothy could do nothing but watch everything unfold.

"Ozma?! Are you sure that you got this?! I was thinking that we could chase him into a cave or something!" Dorothy had spoken out to her friend while being met with Ozma nodding her head in confirmation meaning that things was just gonna be alright.

"I got this! If he's distracted with me than I'd figured that you guys might have a chance in making it to the Nome Kingdom!" Ozma had responded back to her friend as Dorothy nodded her head in understandment before running and getting back inside of the chariot.

"Forward, march towards the Nome Kingdom!" Dorothy had cried out in a commanding tone of voice as the chariot began to move towards its destination while Billina was surprised at the change of plans; however, she understood the situation.

"I hope that Ozma can win this or else all is lost and we can't allow that to happen!" Billina had spoken out to Dorothy in a concerned tone of voice while Dorothy remained faithful.

"Ozma has defeated Mombi, the former Wicked Witch of the North so I believe she can defeat Iron Giant.." Dorothy had spoken back to Billina with a smile on her face as she had hope in her heart that Ozma will win.

The battle between Ozma and Iron Giant was officially beginning; however Ozma had a smile on her face the entire time which left Iron Giant confused.

"What are you laughing about?! Do you think you got what it takes to defeat me, huh, little princess?!" Iron Giant had spoken out in a rather boastful tone of voice while Ozma's smile remained.

"Of course, If i have the power to destroy Mombi than surely I can at least defeat you.." Ozma had spoken out as this seemed to have angered the machine man as it prepared it's giant hammer for it's target.

"Nonsense!" Iron Giant had spoken out in annoyance as he attempted to swing his giant hammer towards Ozma; however, Scarecrow was right behind him which went unnoticed by the giant machine.

"Straw Wood Strings!" Scarecrow had cried out as he extended his arms towards his target as strong strings of straw and sticks came out from his hands as it managed to tie up a rather surprised Iron Giant.

"W-What! Where did you come from?!" Iron Giant had spoken out in confusion as he struggled to break free from the strong strings which made him even more confused since he should be able to break free.

"Impossible, why are these strings so hard to break? My metal should be the strongest there is, wait?! It must be!..." Iron Giant thought to himself while looking over at Ozma who had a smile on her face as this was able to make Iron Giant put the pieces together as he began to speak once more.

"I see, you've used your magic to make his strings stronger, right? I must command you on your efforts.." Iron Giant had spoken out in a rather proud tone of voice as he began to hear a voice in his head and it was no one other than the Nome King himself.

"Iron Giant! Allow these fools to enter my kingdom! I have special plans for them! I've been keeping a close eye on them and they're perfect for my plan.." Nome King had commanded his servant in a commanding tone of voice as this prompted Iron Giant to lower his giant hammer which confused Ozma and Scarecrow.

"Giving up? That's quite odd, did Nome King tell you to give up or was it to your own personal choice.." Ozma had asked Iron Giant as she was met with her opponent nodding his head in confirmation.

"Yes, the great Nome King has given me permission for everyone to pass; however, don't expect the king to give in to whatever favors you may offer.." Iron Giant had responded back while Ozma looked over at Scarecrow to give him the signal to release the giant which he did without hesitation.

"I see, well, we will give Nome King our thanks for allowing us to pass and I hope you have a good day.." Ozma had spoken back to Iron Giant once more as she, Scarecrow, and everyone else had resumed their journey towards the Nome Kingdom after a rather troublesome encounter.

"Good heavens! I thought everyone was goners! That Iron Giant seemed quite strong indeed!" Hungry Tiger had spoken out to Tik-Tok in a tone of relief while the mechanical man began to object to his statement.

"Incorrect, I believe Ozma had the power to destroy him and the Nome King knew that but let's not dwell on this, shall we?" Tik-Tok had spoken back to Hungry Tiger as everyone continued to make their way towards the Nome Kingdom.

Along the way, Ozma had explained to Dorothy in regards to the situation and with that, One hour had passed and Ozma's gang had finally arrived at the entrance to the Nome Kingdom which was a rather gloomy entrance.

"So, this must be the Nome Kingdom. It looks rather gloomy..: Dorothy had spoken out while Ozma nodded her head in agreement as she began to speak as well.

"Indeed, I heard nobody ever comes in nor comes out.." Ozma had spoken back as her statement frightened Hungry Tiger as he didn't expect this at all.

"Oh dear! Nome King is absolutely terrible! I hope we can save the family and get out of here before he does the same to us!" Hungry Tiger had spoken out in a tone of concern as the feline creature looked over to see a man walking towards them and it was no other than Kaliko.

"Greetings, My name is Kaliko and I shall be taking everyone to our majesty's palace, shall we proceed?" Kaliko had spoken out to everyone in introductions while Ozma began to step forward as she began to speak to the nome.

"Good Evening, I'm Princess Ozma of Oz and I would like to speak to the Nome King in regards to a rather important situation.." Ozma had spoken to Kaliko in a polite tone of voice as this made the tall nome smile rather gleefully as he was ready to bring the party to the Nome King.

"I see, an important meeting, eh? Well then! Our majesty shall take everybody there at once!" Kaliko had spoken back to Ozma while walking closer to the group before stopping in front of Ozma as he began to speak once more but this time, to Nome King.

"The guests are ready to see your presence at once!" Kaliko had spoken out as this could be heard by Nome King who had a smile on his face.

"Splendid! I shall transport everyone hear at once!" Nome King had spoken back in a joyful tone of voice as this could be heard throughout the cave.

"Hang on.." Kaliko had simply uttered out as he and the rest of the gang were quickly transported to Nome King's main palace room which was illuminated in a beautiful green glow due to the emeralds which Dorothy found quite beautiful.

"Woow, this place is quite wonderful! It reminds me of the Emerald City.." Dorothy had spoken out while Lion nodded his head in agreement.

"Indeed, the rich minerals truly gives me nostalgia, It's quite wonderful indeed" Lion had chimed into Dorothy's thoughts as this was interrupted by Nome King as he began to clap for his quests which caught everyone's attention.

Nome King was a small humanoid with a long white beard and hair similar to that of Santa Claus himself but more demented while his outfit was quite royal with the color red to go with it and finally, he had his staff that he held at all times and of course, the silver shoes that he wore.

"Greetings! I'm the Nome King! It's a pleasure to meet everyone here! How do you do?" Nome King had spoken out in a rather joyful tone of voice while Kaliko quickly walked over back to his side which initially confused Dorothy and the others.

"Isn't this a trick?" Tin Woodman had thought to himself as he remained very cautious of the Nome King as he had seen Ozma beginning to speak.

"Your majesty, I'm Ozma, the ruler of Oz and I have come to here to request that you release the good Queen of Ev and her ten children" Ozma had asked Nome King in a polite tone of voice as the palace room was quiet for a few seconds before Nome King began to speak once more.

"Oh heavens no! I've won the family fair and square! King Evoldo was greedy and he sold his family for a longer life but guilt consumed him and now he's dead" Nome King had spoken back in objection while sitting on his throne as this seemed to have struck a nerve in Dorothy.

"But they deserve to be free! Why should they remain prisoners due to the actions of a cruel person?!" Dorothy had objected back as she was quickly shut down by Ozma who had let out a silent hand.

"Dorothy, It's okay, I got this." Ozma had advised her friend as the young girl simply nodded her head in understandment as she allowed Ozma to resume negotiations.

"I can take that your little friend is quite feisty, could she be the same girl who had defeated the two Wicked Witches of the West and East, hm?" Nome King had asked Ozma in a rather curious tone of voice as he was met with Ozma nodding her head in confirmation.

"Yes, but both occasions was by accident; however, let's not change the subject, shall we? What Dorothy said was true, you could had ended the deal once Evoldo had taken his life yet you refuse too, why is that?" Ozma had responded back in a calm tone of voice as she waited for an answer as Nome King began to speak.

"Because I don't want too, that's all. I've turned them into ornaments as well so consider that a rather peaceful fate as opposed to death or slavery" Nome King had answered back while taking out a cigar as he began to smoke from it while Ozma began to stand her ground.

"But what a dreadful fate they have! The Kingdom of Ev needs a family to rule over it! The people need a rightful heir to the throne and me nor anyone else here won't allow this to stand any longer and for that. I'll even give you ten ornaments in exchange for the Royal Family of Ev '' Ozma had spoken out in a more stern tone of voice as this brought an idea in Nome King's head which prompted him to sit up and count Ozma's group.

"I see, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. That's nearly the same amount which is PERFECT for my plan.." Nome King had thought to himself as he had suddenly got up from his throne and was ready to provide the gang with a solution.

"Okay, I have an idea. It involves a little guessing, each and every one of you shall head into my ornament room and make a guess on what ornament the Ev family could be, right? All you guys need to do is guess correctly and if you do, than I'll hand over the family and not only that but these silver shoes right here.." Nome King had offered Ozma and the gang as this surprised everyone in the room.

"T-The silver shoes?! B-but I thought they fell off in the Deadly Desert…" Dorothy had uttered out in shock while Ozma remained composed as the next set of instructions were ready.

"That's it? Well, we all shall thank you for offering such grace, we truly appreciate it.." Ozma had spoken back in a gracious tone of voice; however, Nome King wasn't quite done in his instructions just yet.

"HOWEVER! If you guess incorrectly then you shall become apart of my ornament collection, FOREVER!" Nome King had spoken out in a rather boastful tone of voice as this shocked everyone in the room.

"W-What, N-No way…" Dorothy uttered out in shock as the young girl knew that things were slowly heating up in regards to saving the Ev family; however, Dorothy's face changed into a more courageous one as she wasn't gonna give up on her friends nor the Ev family.