*Note: I apologize in advance. This chapter may be very crappy. This chapter is a filler. As I stated in chapter 3 I am just doing short stories to fill in the 20 days in between chapter 2 and chapter 5.

Code Lyoko: the Next Generation

Book 4: Becoming Atlas

Zia Della Robbia was running through the park of Kadic Academy and as usual she had rock music blaring through her ear buds. The school physicals were today and this time she was determined to pass it. Last semester, Zia got into trouble for being a little over weight. She wondered why she had weight problems when Yolanda explained the metabolisms of Odd and Sam canceled each other out. She had Odd's stomach but Sam's metabolism, which burned food at a slightly lower rate than Odd's.

As her favorite rock came on over Zia's headphones, she closed her eyes and when she opened them she was imagining she was fighting on Lyoko. She was facing off against two Krabs and a few Kankrelats in the Forest Sector. She fired an arrow at the first Kankrelat. It shuttered and exploded. Zia got a running leap and summersaulted over the first Krab. As she flew over the Krab's weak spot she fired a second arrow. The Krab devirtualized. Zia spun around and fired three more arrows. The arrows killed the last three Kankrelats. She then ran and jumped up onto the last Krab. She fired the arrow and as the song ended the Krab devirtualized.

Zia blinked once more and Lyoko dissolved. She was doubled over at the edge of the park and watched her breath form ice crystals in the air as she tried to catch it. She heard the heavy footsteps of someone behind her. She didn't even need to look to figure out who it was. There was only one other person at Kadic who would be up at 5:30 in the morning. Zia and Tate had special permission to be up before everyone else on a school day to run since Tate and her ranked first and second in Track and Field.

"Good morning, Tate."

"Morning, Zia." Tate replied.

Zia looked up in time to see Tate remove a backpack from his shoulders and waist.

"How much today?" Zia asked

"About 200."

"Didn't Nurse Yolanda tell you to stop running with weights?" Zia asked.

"Yes. But I can handle the pressure."

"I won't tell Nurse Yolanda but you gotta lighten your load. You are already the fastest person in the school."

"Go ahead and tell if you want. She is gonna find out today anyway."

"What do you mean?" Zia asked.

Tate lifted up his shirt and showed Zia his back. She gasped as when she saw. old yellowing bruises covering his back. He lowered his shirt and picked the heavy backpack up and started walking to the dorms.

"Tatsuyoshi Ulrich Stern, you need to stop carrying weights on your back when you run. It's not healthy." Zia chided as she followed him.

"I'm no longer carrying metal weights. I'm carrying sand."

"It's still not healthy."

"Look who's talking, Zia Rae Della Robbia. What time did you start running?"

Zia blushed slightly and turned away.

"3 A.M." She replied in a low voice.

"You need to stop running for so long. So you were a little over weight last semester. It's not healthy either." Tate responded.

"Y-y-you know about that? How did you find out?" Zia asked slightly embarrassed, but more angry at herself for getting found out.

"I'm good at reading people. And you, Zia, are an open book."

"Yeah right. Prove it." Zia challenged

Tate stopped at the base of the stair case and sighed and leaned in to whisper something in Zia's ear. Her face turned candy apple red as she stuttered "H-h-how do you know about that? I've never told anyone that. The only person who knows about that is Anthea, but that's just because she is my roommate. I made her promise not to tell anyone. Does everyone know?"

"No. That was actually a guess. I know about your father's foot problem. You carry body mist where ever you go, and you are constantly spraying yourself especially your shoes."

Zia glanced at her watch and said, "I think it's about time for me to take a hot shower before class."

"You mean before breakfast." Tate stated.

"Um...yeah…whatever. See you later Tate." Zia said before she ran to her dorm room.

"I HAD BETTER SEE YOU AT BREAKFAST ZIA RAE!" Tate called after her.

Tate went to his room, dropped off his backpack, got his clothes and towel, and went to take a shower.

An hour later the halls were full of students preparing for their day. The girls were worrying about what the nurse would tell them needed work before the next physical. The boys however could care less. They were just excited that the physical caused them to skip class for a few hours.

Zia bounded down the stairs towards the cafeteria. She weighed herself in her before leaving her room. She was 135 pounds. She lost 25 pounds between the last physical and this one. She was ready for today's physical.

"Well I don't want Tate to tell on me so I'll eat something small before school." She told herself.

‡‡‡‡

It was during second period that a spark of electricity jumped out of a socket and dissolved into thin air.

‡‡‡‡

Anthea was trying once again to hack into the Supercomputer from Lyoko, when she felt the pulsations. She threw her hands up in the air and turned to leap from the upper platform.

"I've been here 13 days and I can't get a moment to get through the last fire wall." Anthea said to herself as she fell into the Data Stream.

‡‡‡‡

It was right before lunch when Zia was in line outside the nurse's office waiting for her turn. She wasn't scared of her physical but something felt wrong. Her body felt like it was drained of energy. It felt almost like she was carrying a lead ball around both her ankles. She figured it was just anxiety. She put the thought at the back of her mind as Nurse Yolanda stuck her head around the doorframe.

"Zia Della Robbia, you're next."

"Yes Ma'am." Zia said as she walked through the open door.

Nurse Yolanda closed the door and Zia took her shirt off. After checking Zia's lungs and heart, Yolanda said, "Wow Zia, you are looking great, still a little scrawny but otherwise great."

Zia's stomach growled and she put her hands on her stomach. "I'm not scrawny. I'm lithe."

"Did you eat breakfast this morning Zia?"

"Yes I did, Tate made me. Actually I eat more than I should but I'm always running in the mornings."

"Well that's good. Now if you just take off your shoes we will get your measurements and you will be free to go."

Zia stepped up to the wall and got her height. Then it was time for the big moment. Zia thought is was getting harder to breath. She closed her eyes as she stepped on to the scale. She opened her eyes and looked down at the number and cried out in shock. 200 lbs.

"That can't be right the scale in my room said 135."

"This is the most accurate scale we have. It is very precise." Yolanda said.

"Recalibrate it and weigh me again please."

Yolanda turned the scale off and then turned it back on. Zia stepped on the scale once again and this time the scale read 205. Suddenly the number changed 206. 207. 208. The numbers flickered and the eye of X.A.N.A. appeared on the screen. Zia finally figured it out. X.A.N.A. was increasing the gravity. The exact opposite of what their parents went through. The numbers continued to rise. Zia got dressed as quickly as she could. It was easy to walk but hard to run however Zia still ran as far as she could then slowed down to a walk. Finally she made it to Tate's classroom. She opened the door and saw the students straining under the increased gravity. The only one who looked unaffected was Tate.

"Zia, what's happening?" Tate asked.

"It's X.A.N.A. he is increasing the gravity."

"Really? I can't tell"

"Of course. You run with weights. So you can still move freely under extreme pressure. You need to go to Lyoko." Zia said.

Zia took one more step into the classroom when she felt a snap in her ankle. She dropped to the floor holding her right ankle. "OWWWWWW!"

"What's wrong Zia?"

"I think I broke my ankle." Zia said testing it.. "Don't worry. A Return to the Past should heal it. Now go. Anthea is probably waiting for one of us. You're the only one with strong enough legs to make it to the Factory."

‡‡‡‡

Anthea floated up to the platform of the Forest Sector. She ran out of the Way Tower and into the Forest Sector.

‡‡‡‡

Tate took off down the hall and out the door. He was half way across the park when he finally felt the increase in gravity. He ran full force the rest of the way to the manhole. He hopped on the skateboard and zoomed down the tunnels. By the time he got to the Supercomputer, the gravity was really starting to weigh him down. He found where the tower was and contacted Anthea.

"Hey, Princess. Where are you?"

"Forest sector. Its where the tower is. I will need some help."

"On my way Anthea."

"Wait! Don't forget to program the Overbike."

"Already on it" Tate programed the Self Virtualization program and linked the vehicles and his file to it."

The countdown started and Tate ran for the elevator. As he entered the Scanner Tate took the dark blue hair tie he wore around his wrist and put his hair up into a ponytail. It only took a minute before Tate was virtualized into Lyoko. He hopped on the bike and raced off to find Anthea. He spotted her fighting a swarm of Kankrelats on the other side of the gorge leading into the Digital Sea. She was actually doing a good job holding them off. Tate noticed there was more coming. He removed his fans from his behind him opened them and threw them. The saw like blades zoomed through the trees and sliced through two Kankrelats and upon the return trip back to their owner they sawed through two more. As the fans returned to Tate's hand the openings fused together creating handles. Tate put the fans back against his back and revved the Overbike's engine before riding off the edge of the green path. He prayed his dad's story about a flying bike was true. And true to the story the bike took off for the other side. The bike touched down on the other side. Tate jumped off, grabbed his now useless fans, and fused them with the sheaths. The twin swords gleamed as they were pulled from their home. Anthea marveled in the fact that Tate was a natural. He seamlessly transferred from one weapon to the next with ease. Tate slashed a one Kankrelat then threw his fans, fused them and slashed with swords once more. Eventually the duo defeated the swarm of Kankrelats.

"We gotta go. X.A.N.A. increased the gravity on Earth. Eventually he will crush everyone. We gotta get to the tower." Tate said as he jumped back on the Overbike. "Hop on Princess. Which way is the Tower?"

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Anthea asked

"I was fighting the gravity back on Earth. I'm sorry that I forgot to check the coordinates before being virtualized."

Anthea focused on the pulsations thundering through the ground before pointing Tate in the right direction.

‡‡‡‡

Back on Earth, Will and Franz managed to find Zia. All three were trying to crawl on hands and knees to the Factory when Zia collapsed. The other two stopped to check on Zia. They rolled Zia over on her back and laid down with the knowledge that they wouldn't make it to the Factory. Their only hope was Tate and Anthea.

‡‡‡‡

Tate and Anthea were about a hundred yards away from the tower when two Krabs and two Tarantulas appeared from behind it. Tate leapt off the bike, throwing his fans as he leapt. Due to his time training on and off Lyoko the fans managed to slice through one of the Krabs before returning to Tate. He fused the weapons and charged into battle. As he ran towards the second Krab, one of the Tarantulas charged and fired a shot. The laser bullet slammed into Tate's back.

"Triangulate!" Tate sprinted at top speeds and formed a triangle around one of the Tarantulas. The three shadow Tates withdrew their swords and cut the Tarantula. The Tarantula couldn't handle the attack or the illusion and devirtualized itself. Anthea finally got the courage to head for the tower and ran for it. Tate slowed down and the other Tarantula, who was charging its attack, fired and hit Tate. Tate threw his fans at the other Tarantula. Tate and the Tarantula vanished in a cloud of squares. Anthea was left alone with the one monster she had the most trouble defeating.

‡‡‡‡

Tate stepped out of the scanner and was immediately slammed into the ground by the increased gravity. It was hard to breathe.

‡‡‡‡

Anthea swiped her hand over her bracelet and her wings appeared on her back. She jumped into the air just as the Krab released its shot missing Anthea. Anthea charged her energy field and released it managing to hit the Krab. She charged once more and threw another one but missed. The Krab fired and hit Anthea. She flew for the tower. The Krab fired again clipping her ankle. She landed with a thud near the Krab. Anthea ran underneath the Krab and wasn't paying attention when she entered the tower and fell right into the Data Stream.

‡‡‡‡

Tate heard metal bending above him. He could only guess it was the support beams above the Supercomputer that were bending. If the Supercomputer got crushed Anthea would be stuck in Lyoko forever.

"Hurry Anthea." Tate said as he struggled to roll over onto his back.

‡‡‡‡

Anthea landed in another area of the sector when the world blacked out and came back into existence. Something was happening to the Supercomputer. She had to hurry. Anthea jumped back into the Data Stream. She jumped 3 more times when the computer shutdown and Anthea collapsed.

‡‡‡‡

Franz, Zia, and Will were struggling to breathe. The gravity continued to increase.

‡‡‡‡

Lyoko reappeared and Anthea awoke and stumbled off the ledge. She finally made it to the correct tower.

‡‡‡‡

Zia couldn't breathe her lungs wouldn't expand and allow air in. She started to panic. Her world was started to go black when air rushed into her lungs. She took several deep breaths.

‡‡‡‡

"Tower deactivated." Anthea said as she watched the binary numbers fall. She entered the code for a Return to the Past and a white light shot up from below her.

‡‡‡‡

Zia was trying to catch her breath and watched the ice crystals form in midair. She heard footsteps behind her. it was 5:30 in the morning.

"Good morning, Tate."

"Morning, Zia." Tate replied.

Zia looked up in time to see Tate remove a backpack from his shoulders and waist.

"How much today?" Zia asked

"About 10." Tate replied. "I'm just so used to wearing a backpack so I put 2 of my schoolbooks in there this morning. When did you start running today?"

"Around 4:30"

"Well I think I feel sorry for Atlas." Tate said suddenly.

"Who is Atlas?"

"The Greek Titan god who was punished by holding the weight of the world on his shoulders for all eternity." Tate explained.

"Oh ok. Well I'm going to go get ready for the day. I'll see you around at breakfast Tate." Zia said as she started to jog towards the Dorms. Zia took a shower and got ready for the day. Before leaving she looked at the scale in the corner of her room. She just smiled as she turned out the lights and closed her bedroom door closed. She didn't need a nurse to tell her to lose weight. She was happy the way she was. For the first time in days Zia was looking forward to breakfast.

Sorry if this chapter is crappy I promise the next one will be a lot better. I am also currently working on two Fanfictions. This one and another for the Manga/Anime, Rosario+Vampire, so it will take a little time to write book 5. Anyway please enjoy and please Review. Thanks

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