Greta looked appalled by Nicola's sudden burst of affection. "Okay, okay."
"And I think someone should check all the guards' pockets," added Nicola. "One of the guards might have a pocket knife. It would be disastrous if they escaped."
"Good idea," said Sean. "We'll do it now." He went back into the food hall with a few of the other prisoners. A few moments later he came back out holding a penknife.
"That bully of a guard had it in his back pocket!" he said. "I bet he might have been able to get one of his meaty hands to it and cut himself free! What made you think of it?"
"You'll never guess--"
Before she had a chance to explain, the world went black and Nicola was flying again. Only this time she was flying forward with that same shrieking sound and burning smell.
"Nicola?"
Nicola gasped, her head spinning. She was back on the mountain again standing next to Princess Petronella. She put her hand to her neck. Her limited edition gold button was gone.
"What's the matter?" said Princess Petronella. "Your face has gone a strange color."
Nicola looked over her shoulder and up at the Lookout Tower.
"Is she free?"
"Who?"
"The real Mrs. Mania?"
"I don't think so," said the Princess. "Should she be? I wouldn't approve of that. Isn't she safely tied up in the tower? Oh, look, they're still clucking like chickens! Mrs. Mania must be writhing in agony!"
Nicola lifted her binoculars and watched the army below clucking like chickens. For a moment she was confused, and then her mind cleared. It had worked! She'd traveled back through time, fixed her mistake, and made everything right again! And best of all, she'd done it on her own: calmly, quickly, efficiently. Princess Petronella obviously had no memory of Mrs. Mania escaping. It was just like it had never happened. Nobody even had to know she'd ever made that mistake.
Nicola's horrendous feeling of guilt vanished and the relief was blissful. She wanted to run around in circles, punching both fists in the air like a soccer player who had just scored the winning goal. She touched the empty spot around her neck where the limited edition gold button had hung. What an incredible, wondrous piece of technology. She would have to send the people of Shobble the most grateful thank-you note she had ever written.
The fake Mrs. Mania's voiced boomed out across the valley. Poppy was doing an excellent job.
"Now form a conga line and dance up the mountain toward the Lookout Tower! "
Nicola watched in amazement as the soldiers formed a conga line with their hands on one another's waists.
She picked up the radio. "Shimlara? What are the soldiers thinking?"
"They think Mrs. Mania has finally lost her mind," answered Shimlara. "But they're all happy the war is over. None of them really believed in it, anyway. They all secretly liked the Planet of Whimsy."
Katie's musical platoon struck up a tune and the Volcomanian army began to dance up the mountain, kicking their legs and swinging their hips in perfect time to the music.
"They're quite good dancers," remarked Princess Petronella.
Nicola picked up the radio again. "Everyone report to the Lookout Tower to watch Mrs. Mania squirm! It looks like Whimsy has won the war!"
There were excited cries from the Space Brigade and a strange sound that Nicola was pretty sure was Henry Sweet bursting into tears.
She and the princess hurried up the path toward the tower. Night was beginning to fall and Whimsy's jewelry box of stars was slowly emerging in the sky.
She and the princess reached the tower and hurried up a circular staircase to where Mrs. Mania and Marty Mania were sitting, still tied to their chairs, looking out the window at the conga line of soldiers snaking its way up the mountain in the starlight. The released prisoners who had been guarding Mrs. Mania were cheering as if they were at a football game.
Nicola had expected Mrs. Mania's face to be red with rage, but instead it was dead white, as if she were seriously ill.
"You call this winning a battle?" she spat out, when she saw Nicola. "I've never seen anything more disgusting or deceitful!"
"Oh, but bombing a preschool is okay?" said Nicola.