Laughter is heard as Jeremy wiggles his pencil in his fingers. Everyone just stares up ahead at the front of the room. "I've never seen her laugh so much," Jeremy confesses to Odd next to him in disbelief.
"You're telling me, I've never seen her laugh at all!" Odd replies, looking up ahead in amusement.
"It's kind of like watching Odd eat," Amy whispers to Ulrich behind their friends, who lets out a small snicker.
"You might have a point there, Amy. Ha!"
Ms. Hertz is laughing at her desk for some reason. "The gas I've just inhaled in a small quantity is called nitrogen protoxcide. And to tho-ha ha ha, those of you interested in Chemistry, of course. Although it's better known as laughing gas!" She breaks out into laughter again, holding her cheeks and unable to contain herself. The two gas tanks are right behind her. "You can see why this gas is sometimes used in hospitals to, ha ha, relax patients who are going to be operated on, ha ha!"
"Not a bad idea. Nothing like a laughing attack after an appendix attack," Odd remarks with a small smirk to his friends.
"Let's try to stay serious," Ms. Hertz chuckles, even though she's the one laughing. "In strong doses, this gas can be highly toxic, and provoke a very serious modification and perception, and even legions on the nervous system, sometimes even fatal." Jeremy's eyes widen at the last part. "So one can as the saying goes, literally die laughing!" She bursts out into laughter again. "Only one thing can neutralize the gas, water. All you need is one drop to volatize it," She opens up a bottle of water and takes a sip. "Enough of that. Get out a sheet of paper for a surprise quiz."
Odd and Jeremy glance to each other skeptically, wondering if this is something that they have to watch out for...
Later, out in the courtyard, Amy and the boys are looking towards Yumi...she's sulking on the bench, looking out and seeming upset. "She's been sulking like that for 2 days, nothing seems to cheer her up," Ulrich informs his friends as Amy tilts her head, noticing Yumi's stance...and it feels like a familiar one to her.
"I could try some of my jokes on her. That might do the trick," Odd suggests, hands on his hips.
"I'm not saying you don't have a good sense of humor, Odd. But I'd rather go and talk to her," Ulrich offers, feeling like...because his relationship with Yumi was different from the others, that she might open up to him a bit easier. He walks off, the others staring after him.
"You think Ulrich will manage to get her to smile?" Jeremy steps up to the two.
"Yeah, as sure as Julia Roberts is gonna call and invite me out to dinner," Odd gives him an amused smile.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Jeremy chuckles a bit from the joke. "She's really down...what do you think, Amy?"
She continues staring at Yumi as she feels like...she knows why Yumi is upset. Because she had been like this before. In the exact same pose back at her old home...
"Amy? Amy!" Jeremy calls out, causing her to snap out of it. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Huh? Um...yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," She looks back to Yumi. Odd stares at her, wondering what was going on in her head. It's almost as if she's relating to Yumi in some sense...
Ulrich steps up to her and she doesn't even look back. "Ugh, please, Ulrich, leave me alone. I really don't feel like talking," She dismisses, as she had a good feeling it was him behind her.
"But I feel like talking. And with you," Ulrich gives her a soft smile.
She looks back with a frown and then sits up. "If you like talking so much, talk to yourself, okay?" She glares up at him and storms off. He gives a defeated sigh, knowing that he couldn't push the issue. But he is pretty worried...
"Don't worry, Ulrich. Not all girls are like Yumi," Sissi speaks up from behind while sashaying a bit.
"Yeah, that's a shame," He remarks as he walks off. She narrows her eyes in annoyance from the rebuttal.
"Hey, wait, Ulrich!" She runs up to him, managing to walk side by side. "Are you coming tomorrow? To the rehearsal, huh?"
"Yeah, I'll be there, but not for you," He gives her a quick glance. "It's for Odd and Amy."
"For your information, it's thanks to me that Odd's playing the music and Amy's in charge of the sets," She points out to him, as she got her father to put them in, but he just hums in response. "And if you wanna be part of the group, the, uh, role of Romeo is just ideal for you."
"And I suppose that you, of course, are Juliet?" He looks to her knowingly; she wouldn't have asked to play the part if she wasn't involved...
"Yes, that's perfect casting, don't you think?" She smiles optimistically, finding it romantic.
"Well, it's a perfect reason for me NOT to play Romeo," Ulrich responds and walks further ahead. She grunts as she glares, crossing her arms.
During lunchtime, in Ms. Hertz's classroom, the laughing gas tanks are still right where she left them. An outlet sparks as one of XANA's specters goes over to the tanks...it swirls around the tanks, emitting smoke that looks like a scary entity of its own...
Yumi is at home when her phone rings. She picks up to see that it's Amy calling her and answers the call. "Amy, I don't-"
"Listen, Yumi," The girl interrupts her friend in concern, looking back towards the auditorium. She was the first to arrive, so no one else was there yet. Or so she thought because Odd is outside, leaning against the door and listening. He frowns deeply, knowing that Amy's the only person that could relate to Yumi right now. "I'm not going to go much into it, but...I know exactly what it's like to go through what you're experiencing. I could tell from the way you were sitting."
Yumi furrows her eyebrows in confusion and then her eyes soften. "You...you did? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Well...when your family is at odds with each other...it's hard to really say anything that'll make things better," Amy admits, letting out a small sigh. "It can be difficult to find someone who would know what you're going through when everyone else thinks that your parents are happy...when they're not."
"...Yeah, you're not wrong," Yumi closes her eyes in despair. The brunette gives a weak smile, knowing that she didn't need her friend to tell her exactly what was going on.
"...Except this time, it's more than just one simple fight. My parents are so different whenever they fight that it honestly terrifies me. You're lucky your parents haven't even...brought up divorce," Amy murmurs, catching the Japanese girl off guard. She never thought her own friend was even going through something like that...or that she has to continue dealing with it now.
"Amy...I'm really sorry to hear that. Do they...even still love each other?" She couldn't help but wonder and Amy looks up, sighing. Her parents now compared to back then were two completely different people. And their feelings about one another she's heard for a while now...but still having something for each other...
"...Now that's a good question. The only problem? I can't even answer that."
Yumi bites her lip, taking a deep breath. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I imagine you haven't told the others yet? Don't worry, I won't say anything."
Amy gives a weak smile. "Actually, I only told Odd, but thanks Yumi. I hope things will work out better for you than they did for me."
"Yeah...thanks," Yumi then hangs up the phone, processing what her only female friend just told her. She had no idea at all...
Ulrich walks up to her house outside, sniffing a flower he got beforehand. He then presses the doorbell.
"Oh, it's you, darling. I said to myself we couldn't stay angry at each other for-" Mrs. Ishiyama opens the door, shocked to see Ulrich there. "Oh. Hello, Ulrich."
"Good evening, ma'am," He hides the flower with a small smile. "I wanted to talk to Yumi..." He blushes in a bit of embarrassment for showing up like this.
Ulrich walks around the room, looking at Yumi as she isn't facing him. "What about your dad? Where is he?"
"Uh," She holds the flower up to her nose, sniffing it. "Staying with a friend from work."
"And what was it your parents argued about, huh?" Ulrich wonders, hands on his hips.
"I have no idea. My mother tried to tell me, but I...I didn't understand, and I-I'm not sure she did either," She confessed nervously as he sits down in front of her.
"Yeah, those arguments are the worst," He sighs, shaking his head as his own parents fight too, and have gotten past it.
Yumi lets out a small sigh, remembering what Amy's going through...and that the girl didn't have anyone back then to talk to about it. So she's grateful that Ulrich came to see her. "I'm really glad that you came. Thanks, Ulrich. You know how to cheer someone up," She looks up with a small smile. He then places his hand over hers, causing the girl to gasp as she looks back at him. He gives her a reassuring smile.
"It's strange that they're mad at each other," Aelita states while talking to Jeremy in his room. "Yumi and Ulrich always get along so well. So do Amy and Odd."
"You know, Aelita, very often people who get along well have fights," Jeremy smiles towards the virtual girl.
"Oh, really? What about you and I? Why don't we ever fight?" She couldn't help but wonder, since it's never happened between the two.
"You and I...I don't know really, I...anyway, XANA's been really quiet. Too quiet, don't you think?" He changes the subject because he really doesn't know how to answer the question.
"What I worry most about are the risks you all take," She confesses the blond genius. "You know, XANA would really love to get rid of you."
"Don't worry, the only one of us who's in any real danger today is Odd. And a bit of Amy too," Jeremy gives her an amused smile. "He's rehearsing with Sissi and Amy has to manage the sets with her around. Now that's what I call a risk."
Odd strums the guitar while Amy is cleaning the curtains...as Sissi told her that they have to be maintained every hour. So that they don't take away from her stardom. She rolls her eyes at the demands, as she and Odd have been treated like servants a little bit. The brunette glances up towards Odd, smiling as she finds his playing really calming. And it helps her take her mind off of her conversation with Yumi earlier. He looks up at the girl, who looks away shyly as soon as he does. Odd blinks and gives a small amused smile, knowing that she was paying close attention to him. He focuses back on playing, Amy glancing back towards him with her smile still on her face, which is very flushed.
"I don't know if she'll appear...tonight, but, uh," Herb is playing Romeo, and stumbling over the lines while doing so. "Let's see...oh, I know she loves me! Mm-hm."
"That's awful!" Sissi isn't a fan as Odd stops playing. "That's about as flat as a pancake!"
"Oh boy," Amy murmurs while closing her eyes, fluffing the curtains in silence. Sissi had been like this ever since rehearsals...
"It's not me, it's the lines!" Herb protests while holding up his script.
"What's wrong with the lines?" Nicolas asks angrily, as he's the one who actually wrote it. "Hmm?"
"Well, I-I-I can't even say 'em!" He stammers while pointing at his paper.
"There's nothing wrong with them, it's you!" Nicolas points at him accusingly. "You know how long I spent on the text?"
"Well, my guess would be about 30 seconds!" Herb glares at his friend.
"I dare you to repeat that!" Nicolas clenches a fist, daring to punch him.
"Look, I'd rather you repeated your lines, Herb, and with feeling!" Sissi interrupts them in annoyance. "Nicolas, there's no reason for you to be stage, and Odd, you're playing much too fast! And Amy, those curtains need to be fluffed firmly! Honestly, it's a wonder if you can do anything right."
"Excuse me?" Amy glances up at her in annoyance, looking away with a scoff. "For your information, Odd played just perfect to me. You just keep putting yourself on an imaginary pedestal."
Sissi gasps in disbelief for the remark, growling a bit. "Sure, if I play a little slower, it'll give me more than enough time to take a little nap," He gives a playful grin towards Sissi, causing Amy to giggle. "And besides, Amy's doing a great job so far, so you're not gonna take it out on her while I'm around."
Amy does a double take as she looks at him in surprise and then smiles from the compliment.
"Hey, keep all your bad jokes and the hero act to yourself, huh? Okay, now let's take it again from the top and try to concentrate! Amy, get to work on perfecting my costume and make sure it's perfect!"
Amy rolls her eyes to the back of her head. Sissi storms off to the back of the balcony. Amy bends down to a chair that has Sissi's costume, examining it. As her back is turned, gas comes in from behind the curtain. Odd has started to play as they go over the scene again.
"I don't know if she'll appear tonight...but I know...but I don't know if she loves me," Herb stammers a little less as the smoke goes over to them. It then comes up from behind Odd, who's unsuspecting of it. "Oh, a guard! Uh, guard!"
Odd then bursts out laughing as the gas surrounds him. Herb and Nicolas turn around to him in confusion.
"Oh, what is going on?!" Sissi runs up in annoyance to hear the laughter. "W-What is it now, Odd?"
Amy looks up at him in confusion, staring at the boy as he's unable to stop. "Come on, it isn't that bad," Herb murmurs, thinking that Odd is laughing at his acting.
"Wait...I don't think that's it!" Amy looks at her friend wide-eyed, dropping the dress and running over. "Odd? Hey, Odd!" She shakes him by the shoulders as he persists in laughter. "Snap out of it!" She raises a hand to slap him across the face, but still nothing. "What is with you?!" The brunette shakes him a bit more, looking a little panicked. She has no idea why he's laughing this hard or why he's unable to stop...
"You're not gonna wanna laugh when I get through with you!" Sissi grabs a bottle of water.
"Get him, Sissi!" Herb calls out as she storms down the stairs.
Odd falls onto the ground, falling off the chair. "Odd!" Amy cries out as she bends down to him. "Hey!"
Sissi stands over him and pours water over his face, the gas going away. And no one sees it either. Odd lets out a few coughs, Amy sighing in relief.
"Thank goodness..." She murmurs, a hand over her chest.
"And don't either of you bother coming tomorrow, Odd! We're performing a tragedy, not a musical comedy! Plus, you just ruined my dress by letting it hit the floor, Amy!" She then storms off, Amy glaring towards her. It was fine by her, she wasn't sure she could stand Sissi bossing them around for much longer.
"Huh? Hey, wait, uh..." Odd stammers as he looks up, confused by what just happened.
"Are you okay?" Amy questions her friend in worry.
"Uh...yeah," He turns to her in bewilderment. "But...it was like I couldn't stop myself."
"What...?" She furrows her eyebrows from his answer.
It's late at night as Yumi walks up to someone's house. She rings the doorbell and waits for someone to open the door. Her dad's friend opens up seconds later with a small smile. "Yumi," He greets her politely.
"Good evening, sir. I would like to see my father," She speaks up politely to the man.
"Uhh, just a second, I'll get him," He turns to leave, but then stops, looking back at her curiously. "Uh, would you know...why your mother and father aren't talking to each other?" She silently shakes her head no, as the man doesn't know the real reason either. When Mr. Ishiyama arrived, he refused to talk about it. "I was afraid of that." As he leaves, she looks back to see Ulrich coming out of hiding from behind a tree. He gives her a thumbs up of encouragement.
"Yumi," She looks back as her father arrive while Ulrich goes back into hiding. "How nice to see you. Come in," He gestures to inside the house.
"Daddy, I...I, uh, I want you to come home," She pleads with a sad look on her face, fearing that her parents would end up like Amy's. She didn't want them at each other's throats all the time...putting her in the middle.
"Listen, Yumi," He places his hands on her shoulders. "This is between your mother and me. And she and I have got to work it out."
"Oh yeah? And how? You're not even willing to talk to each other!" She turns away while starting to cry, wishing that she could do something about it...she loved her parents very much, and it breaks her to see them fighting.
"I think I've got an idea," Ulrich smiles in thought, knowing that there was one thing the two parents had in common.
"It was crazy," Odd explains to Jeremy and Aelita in his room. Amy is sitting on the bed, letting out a yawn. It's very late, and she's been worried about Odd ever since what happened that she was getting really tired. "I really didn't feel like laughing at all, but it was impossible to stop. As soon as Sissi poured water on me, that was it, I stopped immediately."
"For once, I'm thanking Sissi for something. Guess there really is a first time for everything," Amy rubs her eye with her hand.
"N20, laughing gas," Jeremy recognizes the effects immediately. "Ms. Hertz said that the only thing that could volatilize it was water."
"You think this could be a XANA thing?" Odd wonders curiously, since it was out of nowhere he started laughing.
"You never know," Jeremy answers as Amy lays down on the pillow, closing her eyes. "Aelita, keep looking around."
"Okay, but no pulsations for now," She agrees with him, but she would've known already if a tower is activated.
"Let's go and see if the bottle of laughing gas Ms. Hertz used is still in the science room," Jeremy suggests to Odd, as he doesn't want to pass it off as a coincidence.
"Kiwi, you stay here," Odd orders, both of them looking at Amy in alarm to see her fast asleep. Kiwi is already laying next to the girl, letting out a bark. Kiki is licking at Amy's face to try and get her up. Odd gives a small smile, knowing that she was really concerned for him and was staying up for his sake. "I guess I scared her to sleep, huh?" He chuckles a little to Jeremy.
"You better put her in her own bed before Jim notices," Jeremy warns with an amused smile of his own.
"Yeah, I got it," Odd walks over and heaves Amy into his arms. "Come on, Kiki." He looks back as Kiki jumps off the bed to see Jeremy giving him a playful smirk. With a girl in a boy's arms, it could be pretty suggestive. "Hey, don't look at me like that," He turns away with a small blush.
"Like what?" Jeremy replies back innocently and Odd doesn't answer, grunting a bit. He opens the door to head for Amy's room.
Someone knocks on Sissi's door. "If you've come to apologize, Odd, don't bother!" She yells as Ulrich is the one who opens the door, much to her surprise. "Oh...oh, it's you, Ulrich," She sits up, turning away from her magazine. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was wondering, Sissi. If there was a part, even a little one that...that Yumi could play," He suggests, as it's part of his plan.
"And why would I want to give Yumi a part?" Sissi raises an eyebrow skeptically. It's a wonder that Ulrich is even asking her, given that she does not like Yumi at all.
"Forget that I even asked. Goodbye," Ulrich turns to leave, closing the door.
She stands up in protest, not wanting to upset him. "Oh, no, Ulrich wait, I...!" She waits for him to open the door again as he has a small smile on his face.
"Hmm?"
"There just might be a solution," She gives a smug smile as she has something up her sleeve...
Outside the science lab, the talk about fights is getting to Jeremy. He just...finds it a bit odd that they haven't fought compared to his own friends. "Aelita and me, we never fight. You think that's normal?" He asks while picking the lock to Ms. Hertz's classroom.
"Huh?" Odd asks in confusion from the sudden question, looking out just in case people are outside. "Uh, yeah, nope. How do I know?"
"You think we'd fight if she lived here in our world?" Jeremy questions, wondering if it's because they're from different worlds that they haven't fought. Because their topics were usually about life on Earth, or about XANA when he attacks...so there hasn't been much room for fights.
"What I do think is we're gonna get caught if you don't hurry up!" Odd retorts back to him. "Plus, I wanna check on Ames before bed."
"Uhh, bingo," Jeremy turns the lock, successfully opening the door. As they step in, he examines the gas tanks. He then opens up the valve, and nothing comes out. "It's empty. Guess we ran out of gas, if you pardon the expression."
"Okay, listen. Tomorrow, we'll go to the factory instead of the play and check things out," Odd suggests while looking over his shoulder. "I'll text Ames first thing in the morning to come with us." And thanks to Sissi taking her off of the sets, she wouldn't be busy.
The next day, Jeremy contacts Aelita from the lab. "Aelita? Hey, Aelita, can you hear me?"
In the mountain sector, Aelita is currently running away from two Bloks. She looks back as they start to fire, and she runs past a large boulder. The Bloks follow her while still attacking from behind.
"Communication refused. Communication refused," The computer informs the trio.
"Okay, Jeremy, we're ready to go," Odd informs as he and Amy run for the scanner room.
"Hang in there, Aelita!" Amy narrows her eyes, hoping Aelita would stay safe. Jeremy looks back in a bit of worry at the computer screen.
Aelita makes it to the edge of the path she's on, looking down nervously. All she could see is fog, and there's no way to tell if there's a safe landing waiting for her. She turns around to see the Bloks arriving and decides to just go for it. She jumps off, letting out a scream as she falls through the fog. Luckily, the Digital Sea isn't awaiting her, just a hidden platform.
"Thank heavens, there's a tower just in time," She looks up ahead to see a way tower surrounded by rocks. She gets onto her feet and runs towards it, but the Bloks are still pursuing her. She heads inside the tower before she could get hit.
Jeremy prepares the transfer as the elevator opens to the scanner room for Odd and Amy.
"I'll transfer you two to the mountain region. I've spotted some monsters there. The tower can't be far," Jeremy informs as the two step in. Then the laughing gas comes in out of nowhere, seeping into both scanners before they close. "Transfer Amy," Jeremy taps a key as Amy's hair lifts up in all directions. "Transfer Odd." Odd closes his eyes, neither aware of what was going on inside the scanner. "Scanner Amy." Jeremy doesn't notice the laughing gas coming in from a vent. "Scanner Odd." He turns around, finding out too late as he gasps. "Virtualization!" He quickly pushes the button to get his friends to Lyoko.
And as the two are being sent to Lyoko, both their ID cards show red warning icons. "Data transfer problem." And unfortunately, there's nothing Jeremy can do about it.
Amy and Odd are virtualized safely, but as soon as they land, both of them feel weak. A feeling that shouldn't happen when they're in Lyoko. "I feel very weak, Jeremy. Did anything happen during the transfer?" He murmurs as Amy stands up, and almost falls, but she catches herself.
"Yeah, same here..." She blinks as neither hear from their friend and she looks up.
"Jeremy? Can you hear us, Jeremy?" Odd wonders as he starts to walk.
"Jeremy...?" Amy has a bad feeling that something happened to him...
Aelita is using the interface in the way tower, trying to get in contact with Jeremy as well. "Jeremy? Can you hear me? Jeremy?"
None of them know it, but Jeremy isn't at the computer.
"Jeremy!" Odd and Amy call out together, their voices echoing.
"Well, there we are," Sissi puts up a page of the script with a satisfied smile. "I've put your lines up everywhere, Ulrich. You'll see, you'll make a perfect Romeo!"
Ulrich turns to Yumi, who isn't pleased about her part or for Ulrich being Romeo while Sissi is Juliet. "Hey, I'm doing it for you," He points out knowingly to the taller girl.
"She's right, you know," She retorts as she turns to him. "You do make a perfect Romeo."
"Okay Yumi, now come with me so I can show you your costume," Sissi tells her, and Yumi reluctantly follows her. Meanwhile, Herb is in the same boat as Yumi, as he's not too happy that Ulrich stole the lead role from him.
"I can't believe you stole my part!" He looks up at Ulrich bitterly.
"It isn't my fault, Herb, I swear," Ulrich insists to him, and it isn't personal either.
"Eh, I wonder why don't I just slug you?" He glares, clenching a fist.
"Fear, maybe?" The brunet boy gives him a smug smile in return.
"Please tell me I don't look too dumb, huh?" Yumi calls out and he turns to see her in the most ridiculous outfit she could ever wear. She's been cast as a guard.
"Don't be silly, you look really stunning," Sissi says, though she did it on purpose.
"I hope we're not doing this for nothing," Ulrich speaks up, getting their attention. "Did you talk to your folks?"
"Yeah, they're gonna come," Yumi answers, relieved that she managed to pull it off.
"Both of them? How'd you do it?" Ulrich asks in disbelief, knowing that they would not want to see each other.
"I lied. I told each one of them that the other wasn't gonna come," She admits with an amused smile.
"Huh, adults can be such children sometimes, huh?" Ulrich jokes, earning a pout from Yumi.
Jeremy dashes into the boiler room as fast as he can, jumping over a pipe. He looks back to see the gas still following him. He then sees a door, hoping that he could lose track of it...he knew that his friends need him.
Odd and Amy run as fast as they can, but it's hard to deny that they're not feeling great. They come to a stop, seeing a way tower: the same one that Aelita's in. And then they notice the Bloks. "Uh-oh..." They're guarding the tower, and with their weakened states, it was going to be much easier to fight them off...
"Well, that's just great," Amy sighs upon seeing them.
"This is not a good time to desert us, Jeremy. The welcoming committee looks really mean and we're not feeling too good. Jeremy?" Odd states, but still got no answer.
"Virtual envelope damaged. Virtual envelope damaged," The computer repeats, as the laughing gas has covered the entire lab...
The Bloks turn to the duo and approach the weakened warriors. "Things don't look so good..."
"They already weren't from the start..." Amy murmurs, trying to keep herself upright. "But we've gotta get past them and find Aelita."
Jeremy has now reached the sewers, with the gas still trailing after him. It manages to catch him and as he tries to fend it off, he falls back into the water. The gas escapes him and then he emerges, seeing it evaporate...and then he remembers that water is the only thing to stop it.
"Good evening," The auditorium is being filled with seats for the play, Principal Delmas greeting parents at the doors. Mrs. Ishiyama approaches him, Ulrich and Yumi peeking from behind the curtains.
"There's my mother," Yumi murmurs, hoping that her father doesn't arrive and then would turn around and leave.
"Good evening," The principal states to Mrs. Ishiyama, who is wearing a black dress, and a purple purse is around her arm. "I suppose your husband is meeting you here tonight?"
She looks up a bit awkwardly as she definitely doesn't want it spreading around that she and her husband are having...problems. "Uhh, no, my husband isn't able to come. He's, uh...not feeling well," And with that, she quickly leaves so she doesn't have to talk about it. The man stares after her, Yumi and Ulrich watching as well.
"Oh, Mr. Ishiyama," Principal Delmas greets as the man is the next one to arrive. "I'm delighted to see that you're feeling better already," He shakes hands with the man.
"Uh, feeling better?" Mr. Ishiyama obviously has no clue what he's talking about. And feeling better would be an understatement...
"Well, your wife has just arrived," The principal gestures to the auditorium.
"My wife...is here?" He looks inside, seeing her already seated. Yumi and Ulrich watch as Mr. Ishiyama sits next to his wife, as there's no other seats. He clears his throat and she turns to him in surprise. Given what Yumi said, she wasn't expecting him to be there. He glances at her and after a few seconds, she turns away with a huff.
"You're not out of the woods yet," Ulrich remarks after seeing this exchange.
The Bloks walk up to Odd and Amy. "We're too weak to fight them. We'll have to trick them," Odd glances at Amy, who has the same idea as him as she nods silently. The two then jump up. "Here we go!" He fires a laser arrow, destroying one on impact. Odd lands, but Amy weirdly does not. The remaining Blok prepares to fire and Odd jumps out of the way, falling off the edge. The Blok walks up and looks around, seeing nothing. Odd crawls underneath the pathway, Amy appearing behind the Blok. Odd arrives as he gives her a wink. The Blok turns to Odd in alarm as he points behind the monster.
"Stone Shot!" Amy fires a dart made out of rock, though it hits the exterior, not the eye. Odd gets on his feet and jumps from a laser. While running, he grabs Amy's hand and runs off, to her shock. They approach the tower with the creature still following them.
"Aelita, are you there?!" Odd looks up at the tower.
"It's us!" Amy calls out, looking over her shoulder.
Aelita turns around as she could hear their voices, still trying to connect with Jeremy. "Odd and Amy?"
They turn around to the Blok, and take off into a run. The Blok fires and hits Odd from behind. He grunts as he leans against the rock.
"Odd, are you okay?!" Amy examines him, but gets hit in the back, grunting. Aelita then steps out of the tower, flinching in surprise to see the Blok.
"Second time's the charm. Stone Shot!" Amy fires another stone dart as Odd fires his laser arrow after her. Luckily, they manage to destroy it.
"Hurry up. XANA might not send us more monsters. We'd better not stay here," Aelita warns the both of them.
"Uhh, I, um...I...I don't know if she will—she will appear tonight at her balcony," Ulrich stammers through his lines, gesturing to the balcony behind him. "I'm..." He blinks in confusion as his lines are escaping him. The parents in the crowd turn to each other in confusion. "What does it say? I can't read it!" He murmurs as he didn't have time to remember all of his lines, because he was casted so late as Romeo. He sighs, trying to get closer to the script. "Uh..." He scoots closer to get a better look. "Does she...what does it say? Oh, oh right. Uh, does she love me?" He asks dramatically, gesturing to himself. "Anyway, I think she does." He then blatantly looks at the script, the parents even more confused. "Enter guard? Huh?" The crowd laughs as he said it out loud, but wasn't supposed to do. "Oh, guard! Guard!" Even Yumi's parents are laughing together. "Hide! Hide!"
Yumi then steps onto the stage. "Look, it's Yumi," Mr. Ishiyama chuckles, and the two turn to each other. Mrs. Ishiyama immediately stops smiling as she looks up ahead. He crosses his arms, not looking too happy either.
"Boy, they're tough," Ulrich murmurs to himself from seeing this.
Yumi stares at the audience, thankfully not having any lines. And then she leaves the stage. Sissi appears in costume on the balcony.
"Oh no, where are my next lines?" Ulrich glances up at Sissi, who stares. "I see 'em," They're on the other side of the stage, unfortunately.
Jeremy shivers as he looks at the gas still nearby. He tries to swim away, but the gas follows after him. He stares, knowing that if he tries to leave, it'll still follow him. "Go away!" He splashes at the gas, which moves away, and then it approaches him.
On Lyoko, Amy and Odd are walking with Aelita, and their weakness is really starting to get to them now. It's like they're losing energy the more they move around... The girl is flying in front of them very slowly, her arms feeling sluggish. "There must have been a problem during the transfer. I feel weaker and weaker..." Odd murmurs as Amy lands on the ground in front of them, unable to fly anymore. The two rush over to help her up, but she holds up a hand.
"I'm fine," She then manages to get onto her feet, walking up ahead slowly. Odd holds his head, getting a headache. Amy isn't doing too hot either as her head feels like it's splitting.
"Odd, Amy, are you okay?" Aelita questions them in concern.
"Yeah, I'll be just fine...what about you, Ames?"
"I'll be okay...I definitely can't fly anymore, though. I think I'm so weak that I can't even summon my wings," She groans, pinching her forehead.
Aelita gasps as she looks up ahead, feeling the pulsations in the direction that they're going. "You've gotta hang on, guys. You see the pulsations? The tower that XANA activated can't be too far."
"Hope not..." Odd then trips and falls onto the ground.
"Odd!" Aelita bents down to him just as Amy falls onto her knees. "Oh no, Amy!"
Odd looks up and notices something up ahead. "Hey, what's that?"
Aelita sees what he's looking towards and gives a worried look. "Oh no, that's all we needed..." They've found the tower...but it's past a maze. "A labyrinth."
"Just another one of XANA's dirty tricks..." Amy mutters, not too shocked to see it.
The toxic laughing gas reaches the school, going towards the auditorium. "Ah, last you're here, uh you who is so fair and uh...fair," Ulrich stammers again while reading the script, everyone unaware of what's going on...
Amy, Aelita, and Odd enter the maze, turning left. Aelita looks towards her friends as they walk slowly, starting to feel dizzy. Everything feels like a blur to them...and it's not helping find the tower since everything looks the same. They reach a dead end, the two taking a small rest against the wall. Aelita walks up to the two, placing her hands on their shoulders in worry. She knows that they're going through a lot right now...
They start walking soon after, but reach the same spot. "We've been here before," Aelita murmurs in thought, her friends getting even weaker... "I'm sure." Amy and Odd fall to their knees.
"This can't be happening..." The fairy mutters while placing a hand on her dizzy head.
"Lost...without Jeremy's help, it's all over..." Odd murmurs hopelessly, since they have no idea of knowing where to turn...and because Amy can't fly, she couldn't even get a bird's-eye view.
"He must've gotten into some trouble..." Amy closes her eyes weakly, swaying a bit.
Jeremy is still in the water with the gas keeping watch on him. "Well, Jeremy, how do you wanna die?" He asks himself as the water's cold. "Freezing or laughing? I gotta do something. I can't hang on any longer." He lets himself fall into the water, the gas not daring to go in. Jeremy then swims to avoid being caught and to get back to the lab.
"You who lights up my days, you who is the sunshine of my nights," Ulrich kneels in front of the balcony as the gas approaches between the seats.
"This is awful," Nicolas couldn't stand to hear the bad acting from Ulrich, he and Herb watching from the curtain. "He's massacring my text, huh? Even you were better." He'd definitely take Herb's acting over Ulrich's...
"Oh, my Romeo. You are my beau. Oh, Romeo, carry me, o amor mio..." Sissi says, possibly worse than Herb or Ulrich. The gas reaches him and he busts out laughing. He hugs himself while on the ground, the crowd laughing along with him. Sissi looks offended as she thinks it's because of her. "Huh? What did I say? What's so funny?" The gas then reaches Yumi, and she begins laughing too. "Everyone is laughing at me now..." She glares at the laughing audience.
Jeremy reaches up to the platform, crawling out of the sewer water. There's no gas in sight as he runs off quickly to go help his friends.
The audience watches Ulrich and Yumi as they're still laughing, but the crowd no longer is. "It's not normal," Mrs. Ishiyama notes their behavior. "They're going to choke!"
"We've got to find a way to help," Mr. Ishiyama frowns in concern.
"I know what to do," Sissi steps up angrily with a bottle of water in her hand. She then pours it over Ulrich's head, and the gas leaves his body.
"What happened?" He asks in confusion as Yumi couldn't stop herself. "It was like I was being controlled."
"What's he talking about?" Mr. Ishiyama demands as he's very concerned for his still laughing daughter. Ulrich glances up at Yumi, who's starting to lose her breath.
"This thing is afraid of water," Ulrich gets onto his feet. "Sissi, give me that, fast."
"You could say please!" She glares while moving it away.
"Sissi! Give me that bottle, will ya? Hurry up," He holds his hand out. Sissi then notices that Yumi can't stop herself. "Come on." She gives it to him and then Ulrich pours it over Yumi. She gasps to catch her breath as the gas leaves her. "Yumi, you okay?"
Her parents walk up to her in relief. "Oh, darling, we were so frightened!" Her husband has his arm around her and Yumi smiles. Their concern of their daughter was more greater than their current fighting.
The gas surrounds Ulrich again, and he starts to laugh. "Ulrich!" Yumi turns to him and gets affected too, to the shock of her parents.
"What's going on? What's the matter with her?" Principal Delmas looks at Yumi in concern.
The gas has caught up with Jeremy as he runs. It engulfs him seconds later, causing him to laugh.
Aelita turns around, looking towards her friends. Their conditions haven't improved in the slightest. Odd then gets a Future Flash, which shows him the path to the tower. "We're almost there, Aelita. I just had a psychic vision. You have to go left, you hear? And don't wait for us, we're too weak to go."
"Besides, we'll only slow you down," Amy waves a hand, putting her arm around Odd's shoulder.
"Okay, guys," Aelita stares at them, knowing that deactivating the tower is the only thing she can do for them. "I'll get there. Don't worry."
"Oh, we're not worried," Odd gives her a small smile.
"We know you can do it. Now hurry, we don't know what's going on back on Earth," Amy gestures to the rest of the maze. Aelita nods and runs off as Odd rests his cheek on Amy's shoulder. She turns to him in bewilderment as he closes his eyes.
"Ames, can we...just stay like this please? Until she deactivates the tower?" He murmurs pleadingly as he feels like he needs to rest. She gives him a small smile and pulls him in closer.
"Yeah...we can, Odd," Amy murmurs while closing her eyes.
Jeremy is now on the floor, weak from the laughter as he can barely breathe.
Aelita runs to the tower, using the path that Odd told her. She runs across the bridge that awaits her before she enters. She walks to the middle, the platform lighting up. She then starts flying to the top.
Yumi can barely breathe just like Jeremy, her parents supporting her back. "Water! And call for help, please hurry," Mrs. Ishiyama tells the crowd frantically. The principal runs out of the auditorium.
As Aelita continues moving, Jeremy makes a fist, trying to hold on for life...
She makes it to the top platform. She then approaches, pressing her hand on the interface.
Aelita
Code
Lyoko
The gas stops just before it can reach Ulrich and Yumi on stage. The tower is deactivated, and the time reversion is set. For emergencies, Jeremy has it set for whenever Aelita deactivates the tower if he's not there. "Return to the past now..." His voice echoes from the program as everything gets engulfed in the white void.
"You've gotta be kidding. I won't ever be part of that dumb play again," Yumi denies as her parents are still fighting.
"Well, as least now we know how to get your folks together," Odd suggests as she looks back. She had told them everything, except about Amy's phone call to her.
"I'm never gonna wear that stupid costume again!" Yumi turns around sharply, refusing to be humiliated like that.
"I agree," Jeremy states, the other three turning to him curiously. "I've got a better idea. As for Ulrich, I'm really sorry, but you're going to have to sacrifice yourself one more time."
"At least that way, we can finally see him as Romeo!" Odd jokes as he can't wait to see Ulrich mess up his lines.
"Let's face it, a nice laughing fit is good for you from time to time," Jeremy remarks, though Ulrich is definitely not too happy having to be in the play again...
"Count me out," Amy clears her throat awkwardly as she leaves. "I'm gonna be busy. Sorry, guys," She states, to the confusion of Ulrich and Jeremy.
"Huh? What's up with her?" Ulrich wonders, earning a shrug from Jeremy.
Odd and Yumi stare after her knowingly, Yumi frowning as she remembers what Amy told her. It would be too hard for her to see Yumi's parents get back together when there's no hope for her family to be whole again...
"I don't know if she'll appear tonight on her balcony...but I'm certain...um, I'm certain she-she loves me!" He says a bit more confidently this time, not even reading the script. Both Mr and Mrs. Ishiyama are smiling in the crowd, as Yumi's plan to get them there worked again.
"And I know I love her very much," Yumi whispers from behind a bush, helping Ulrich with his lines.
"And I know I love her very much!" Ulrich repeats, grateful that he doesn't have to walk around stage to read the script. "Ah no, a guard!" He runs off to hide behind the bush prop. This time, Herb is the guard, not that he's happy with it. Everyone laughs at him, Odd giving an amused smile. With him not doing the music, he's glad that he gets some comeuppance...
"Where's Yumi?" Mr. Ishiyama wonders, as she told her parents she'd still be in the play. Otherwise, neither would've shown up. "Isn't she supposed to be in the play?"
Jeremy turns around and winks. He pulls a rope, the bush prop lifting up to reveal Ulrich and Yumi. The crowd laughs at the two, as do Yumi's parents. And they look much happier than they did when they were fighting.
"It worked!" Jeremy states in a bit of amusement, as Ulrich and Yumi were caught off by what he did.
"What's the matter now? What happened?" Sissi frowns as she can't see the two. "Why are you all laughing? You don't understand drama! This is not a comedy, it's a great tragedy!"
As Yumi's parents laugh, Mrs. Ishiyama places her head on her husband's shoulder. He holds her close as they continue to laugh. Yumi smiles at her parents, glad that they're able to put the fight behind them now.
Amy is sitting in bed, petting Kiki. She's in her pajamas, as it's now dark out. She didn't even go to dinner either, she didn't feel like eating. Kiki whines as she looks up at her sad owner, who gives a small knowing sigh.
"Sorry, girl. I'm not in the mood." She glances at a photo of her parents on the wall, along with Amy as a newborn. They...looked happy...her eyes shake as she tries not to cry. And it's not like there's anything she can do if they just don't love each other anymore...
A knock is heard at her door and she looks up, as she's not expecting guests. She opens the door, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Odd...?"
He smiles, revealing a box of chocolate behind his back. "Cream-filled chocolates?" He offers her casually, causing her to slowly smile.
They sit on her bed in silence while eating the chocolate together. Kiki is fast asleep as Odd glances up at her. "...Before the jump in time, I heard you on the phone with Yumi in the auditorium," He reveals, not wanting to keep secrets from the girl. She glances up at him in surprise. "I'm sure she's grateful that you talked to her about what you're going through," He murmurs as he doesn't have a joking tone to his voice as usual. Mainly because sometimes he doesn't know how to handle it...
"Yeah..." Amy sighs slowly, a hand over her face. "My parents were just like Yumi's before they sat down to tell me about the divorce. So...I knew the signs, and I've been through what she felt. They just...don't fit together in my mom's words. I wish I knew more, but they don't want to put me in their drama. Or at least, Mom doesn't. I get involved by proxy more often than not," She looks away in a bit of annoyance, since both of them can get pretty petty and snippy in her presence...or she overheard them. "Sometimes it's still weird not hearing them fighting being here at Kadic. Maybe I was just used to it."
Odd stays silent as he unfortunately can't relate, and Yumi isn't a dorm student...and he knows that Amy doesn't want to bother the girl about it. "Well...if you ever wanna talk about it...I'm always here," He reaches out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If...that's what you're okay with."
She looks up at him with a small smile, humming. "I know, but it's still a lot sometimes. I don't really feel like talking about it anymore than I have lately. Thank you, Odd," She scooches closer to wrap her arms around his waist in a hug. He smiles, rubbing his back gently to soothe her. He looks out the window, as he couldn't help but feel that...sometimes, Amy didn't feel like a best friend to him. That he felt...maybe something more? Maybe...that he wants to continue being that person she can talk about anything with?