Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.

All Of The Above

A/n: Globe Trotting, and other things you probably should avoid doing in a bikini. Follow Aelita's first summer since her release from Lyoko as she discovers things about herself and the world around her she never could have imagined.

Dedication: First, to Jeni: For dealing with my insanity and random creative outbursts. For understanding why I need my ego stroked on occasion. And also for always having something sarcastic and brilliant to add. To Kitty: For all the titles, even if they were for our autobiography and not my story. For her patience and comments way below the gutter. Also for editing this in the shortest amount of time ever. To Snowy: For not eating my brain. Thanks darling. And to all my friends at Xana's Lair for making me laugh. Love you all.

'My summer vacation started with a bang…..'

Odd slammed his book bag onto the bench louder than, probably, necessary. With a shout of excitement, he threw his arms into the air.

"It's summer!" Yumi smiled, rolling her eyes good humouredly as she joined the rest of the gang on the ground in the shade.

"Great observation." He danced a victory dance in the grass before his friends, anyway. The gang was seated on the ground in a semi-circle, smiles plastered on their faces. The scene played out perfectly; at noon it was already a comfortable eighty degrees with a breeze. The sun warmed their skin and sparkled off the green eyes of one, Aelita Stones. Dressed in new pink shorts, a white tank top that looked like it had been swiped from one of the boys' dressers, and a pair of neon orange flip-flops; the girl looked happy and just a tad confused.

"No school!" Odd continued to jump around, earning glances from nearby groups and a few teachers walking off campus.

"No school? Like a long weekend?" Aelita questioned. Yumi stretched back, brushing shoulders with Ulrich in the process.

"A three month long, long weekend," the older girl explained. Aelita tugged at the bottom of her shorts.

"Where will we learn, then?" Fully confused now, she turned her attention to the blonde boy next to her for an explanation.

"We have a break. We won't be learning, at least school wise, until vacation is over."

"Yep!" Odd finally calmed down enough to drop onto the ground, closing the gap between Ulrich and Jeremie. "Just some fun in the sun! With all of us, of course." Yumi gave a bit of a half sigh.

"All of you. Japan, remember?" she asked, looking rather disappointed.

"Germany," Ulrich seconded, still wearily glancing at Odd for further outburst. Jeremie look frustrated.

"My parents expect me back for the summer, as well," he sighed. Aelita's posture changed, eyes slightly alarmed as she pulled nervously on the blades of grass by her knees.

"Where… Where will I go?" she asked quietly. The others looked unalarmed, but Odd blinked, almost shocked by her worry.

"With me, naturally! I'm going to see the 'rents in New Zealand if everyone is taking off. You'll absolutely love it." Aelita glanced around the circle nervously.

"And I won't see everyone else until September?" Aelita asked. Jeremie paled at the notion.

"You could always come with me. I mean, I'm sure my parents won't mind giving up the guestroom for the summer; they've really wanted to meet you, anyway." The offer came out rushed in a single breath. Jeremie's cheeks were tinged pink, his eyes glued to the ground and the school building behind Yumi and Ulrich, anywhere but on the girl next to him. Aelita smiled appreciatively at the bespectacled boy, but then looked around the circle at the rest of her friends.

"I don't want to be away from any of you; A whole summer without my guardians?" she added with a small grin. Glances were exchanged amongst the teens.

"I guess we really hadn't considered summer break," Yumi pointed out. She and Ulrich looked at each other. He shrugged.

"It's her first summer. We can't stick her with one person for the whole time."

'Travel plans were changed last minute by a sudden ingenious idea…'

"What if I went with all of you?" Aelita suggested brightly. Jeremie adjusted his glasses, looking carefully at the girl.

"Aelita, we'll be all over the globe. You can't possibly be with all of us at the same time," he pointed out. A light bulb seemed to go off in Odd's mind, and he leapt to his feet.

"Princess, I think that's a great idea! There's ten weeks of vacation; that's …" he quickly did the division in his head.

"Like, two weeks and a few days in four different countries. You'll have a blast!"

'It was all downhill from there; the promises of summer.'

Aelita's face brightened at the thought. She brushed loose strands of pink hair from her eyes.

"Would that be ok with everyone?" she asked in a small, yet excited, voice.

"I'd love to have you come out with the family," Yumi said lazily, stretching her bare legs out in front of her. "They adore you; you know that."

"I wouldn't mind having you for a few weeks, either. Sorry though, I make no promises anything exciting will happen." Ulrich smiled at her continually brightening mood. Jeremie weighed the options as he watched the interaction, the plan unraveling before him; seven weeks apart was better than ten- but it was still seven weeks without Aelita. The eyes she was staring at him with melted his heart.

"Well, Aelita, where would you like to go first?" Aelita squealed, clinging to him in a quick hug.

"Really? We can pull it off? Do you think your parents will be ok with all this? Last minute plans and all?" she babbled happily. The others laughed. "Wow, this is exciting! I'll get to fly, won't I? Well, of course, you can't exactly get to Japan by train, right?" Her smile dropped off abruptly. "Wait! That's… three plane tickets and at least one train ticket... At least two-hundred euros each way... How on Earth will I pay for the travel alone guys?" Jeremie put a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention momentarily.

"Calm down, Princess. I think I've got the solution for this." He took his laptop from the bag behind him and booted it up. "One advantage to going though all of Franz Hoppers personal records was finding all the information I need to access his bank accounts." He turned the laptop into the circle.

"Isn't that…illegal?" Aelita questioned. Jeremie shook his head.

"Think of it as your inheritance."

"Well… how much is there?" She glanced down guiltily at the laptop. The blonde shrugged.

"Enough to take care of you between now and graduation." Aelita's eyes widened.

"Yeah! Graduation from university!"

"That's what I meant." The others were stunned to silence.

"And you were just going to keep this a secret?" Well, except for Odd.

"Just as good of a time as any to tell her," Jeremie said with a grin.

"This is great!" Aelita exclaimed, throwing herself over Jeremie, nearly cutting off his oxygen supply in the process. "Where to first?" she asked. As Jeremie's color started to return to normal he managed a suggestion.

"Well, logically, whoever leaves the soonest is who you should go with. That way you'll get the maximum time out of France." And away from me, his mind added, partially in bitterness, partially in jealousy.

"Looks like Germany's your first stop, Princess. Our train leaves at 7:10am tomorrow morning," Ulrich said, resting back on his elbows.

"Awesome! Looks like I have some packing to do." She was on her feet in less than a second, beaming the entire time. Sudden realization left her thoroughly embarrassed, smile faltering and face turning red.

"Something wrong?" Jeremie asked, slightly concerned by the sudden turn in her excitement.

"I've… never packed anything before," she admitted. "Will someone help me?"

"I'll help if you'd like," Jeremie volunteered. Ulrich and Odd traded eye rolls.

"Jer just wants in her drawers," Odd commented. Yumi shot him a dirty look and Aelita looked baffled.

"Why would Jeremie want--"

"Just leave it, Lita. Odd's just showing his maturity level. Or lack thereof." Yumi dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah, well… packing is more of a, oh, what's the phrase, Ulrich?" Odd asked, resting back on his elbows as well.

"Girl thing?" Ulrich offered.

"Yes! Yes, that's it. We have manly things to do. Jer, so do you. You're not going on a panty raid today."

"Fine, go play your video games. Us girls will go pack." Yumi rolled her eyes, getting off the grass via Jer's shoulder and Ulrich's head. "I have a feeling we're going to have to make a store run tonight," she said with a smidge of regret in her voice.

"Oh, wait." Jeremie dug back in his bag, producing a silver piece of plastic. "You'll probably need this if you're going shopping."

"A credit card? Jer, just when were you planning on telling Aelita she was an heiress?" Ulrich asked, eyebrow raised.

"When they used the money to elope, of course!" Odd teased. Jeremie returned to his natural shade of crimson.

"Debit, actually. And I was only able to transfer the account into her name yesterday, so it's not like it was a well kept secret," he said trying to ignore Odd. "You'll need to sign as Aelita Stones." She quickly claimed the card, shoving it in her pocket.

"Thank you, Jer!"

"We'll see you boys at dinner." Yumi waved as Aelita dragged her towards the dorm.

'Proper packing technique will somehow take twenty square feet of closet and dresser space and cram it all into a neat, little, three square foot pile.'

Aelita's set of suitcases were pink with pale green stars sporadically placed over all the sides. A full suitcase, a smaller travel duffle, and a cosmetic case, all matching, had sat untouched in her closet for months since her birthday earlier that year. Odd figured eventually the girl would need to go somewhere and she'd need them. For once in his life he was right.

Yumi's mobile rang as she plopped down on Aelita's bed. She scowled, pulling it from the front pocket. It was Odd.

"How much trouble could they possibly be in? We've only been gone five minutes." Aelita giggled as she unzipped her suitcase. "What Odd?"

"Hey! Make sure Aelita has flip-flops for the beach, ok?"

"Yeah, sure Odd. Bye." There was a shriek of 'That reminds me!' in the background and the phone was claimed by someone else.

"Yumi? It's Ulrich. Make sure Lita has hiking boots, too, ok? She's going to need them."

"Hiking boots, flip-flops. Got it. Bye Ulrich." Yumi hung up the phone. Aelita was already slipping the shoes into the clear plastic compartment on the inside of the lid.

"Check!" she said, cheerfully bouncing back to her closet. Yumi smiled and got off her bed, setting her mobile on the vanity.

"Add tennis shoes to that list, as well. I'll start on your cosmetic bag. Where's your toiletries bag?" Aelita motioned to the last drawer under her bed. "Thank you." Just as she reached for it her phone rang again.

"What now?" Aelita laughed as she folded a few pairs of shorts. Yumi tossed the small pink toiletries bag into its proper suitcase and put the phone on speaker.

"We're packing; I thought you were doing boy things."

"Which is why I'm calling. Aelita has a bikini right?" There was an exclamation of Odd's named followed by shuffling and muffled cursing.

"Odd, what do you want?"

"I'm serious. She's going to need that, too. She could always pick one up here, but it may be a good idea to have an extra."

"Got it, Odd. Goodbye." Yumi ended the call and started packing Aelita's makeup into the bag.

"A bikini? Well, he did mention the beach right? That makes sense. That's one of the things I'll need to pick up." As Aelita finished folding her shorts, she packed them neatly in her suitcase. "What do I put in the duffle, by the way?" she asked, head tilted.

"I'd put a quilt or throw a blanket in there. Everyone will have bedding and such for you, but it's always nice to have one. Then I'd put some things that can do without being folded really neatly, like your pajamas and a few sweatshirts, in there. Maybe--" she was cut off by her ringer. "What now?!"

"Yumi, It's Jer. Please don't let them drag her around in some skimpy--"

"It didn't have to be skimpy!"

"-Shut it, Odd! Some skimpy bikini. Aelita has much too high a stand--"

"Oh get off it, Belpois!"

"I said shut up! Look out for her, will you? These two hounds will probably--"

"That's it!" The line went dead and Yumi sighed.

"Skimpy bikinis?" Aelita questioned. The older girl had moved onto the small bag of hair accessories Aelita had on her vanity, packing it neatly alongside her makeup in the cosmetic bag.

"Just ignore them. You can hold your own; I'm not worried." Yumi left the essentials for the morning on her vanity, ready to be packed, and shut the cosmetic bag, moving on to her drawers. She eyed the drawers. "You know? Plan B. Pack everything that's not winter. If you need anything while you're being a worldly traveler, just buy it."

"Sounds good." She glanced back at her closet and then to the suitcases. "I'm going to need a bigger--"

"Not if you pack it right." Yumi started packing pajamas into her duffle. With an irritating ring her phone went off yet again. Aelita took aim at it with her flip-flop. "Don't. It's not worth buying a new one."

"Right." Aelita laughed, stuffing the pair in with the rest of the shoes. Yumi hit the speaker button.

"I swear…." Yumi warned. She noticed a calm silence accompanied by a series of clicking.

"It's Ulrich, Yumes. Listen, make sure Aelita has whatever she needs, ok? I don't want to be dragged to the store if she runs out of, uh, girly necessities." Aelita looked at Yumi for an explanation.

"Translate?"

"Huh? Girly necss—What? Tampons, Ulrich?"

"What?! I'm just saying!" There was a loud giggling.

"Yumi said tampons."

"Shut up, Odd." Yumi glanced at Aelita. She was a bright pink, eyes on her folding.

"Lita?" Yumi asked, "Do you have..?" Aelita glanced at the phone and then at her. "They'll get over it."

"No. I mean I haven't gotten around to it and … well…" she trailed off.

"It's ok. Ulrich? I need a favor." Yumi finished the pajamas and moved to the next drawer.

"Sure."

"I need you to run to the store for me. It's closer than my house."

"What?! Yumi! Absolutely not. I'm busy." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Killing things?" She didn't really need to ask; the sounds of animated battle accounted for most of the background noise on the boy's end of the phone.

"Level eighteen!"

"Don't let me disturb you. We'll pick it up while we're out." She hung up the phone and shut it off. "I hate them."

Somehow managing to get every piece of clothing the girl owned into two bags, the girls left the room to go in search of sun block, sunglasses, a bathing suit, and as Ulrich so delicately put it, girly necessities. By the end of the night, Yumi only had a handful of advice for Aelita.

"I don't care what Odd tries to tell you, if you think it may be dangerous you probably shouldn't do it. Keep Jer updated so he doesn't have a hernia or something and… call me, too, ok?" Aelita leapt at her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks for the help, Yumi."

"Have a good summer, Lita." She waved goodbye and moved down the hall to say goodbye to Ulrich.

"Knock, knock." She leaned into the open doorway, tired smile on her face. Ulrich stopped bouncing on his suitcase long enough to look up at her.

"Hey Yumi." He proceeded to pull on the zipper while holding the lid down.

"Hey." She hopped up next to him, adding just enough weight to get the zipper closed all the way. "I think you need a bigger suitcase," she informed him. He rolled his eyes, pushing her off the suitcase and onto his bed. He pulled the overstuffed bag to the floor next to a second smaller one.

"Is Aelita all packed?" he asked. Yumi stretched out, crossing her leg over her knee.

"Yes," she yawned. "Are you going to take her bags for her or should I come up in the morning and help?" she teased.

"I think I can handle it. She doesn't pack like you do, does she?" He knocked her foot back over her knee and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I moved across the world. You think I could fit everything I own in one bag?" she scowled. He threw his hands up.

"Just saying."

"One suitcase, a duffle, cosmetic bag and her backpack. You have three, she has three and a little carry on." Yumi sat up on her elbows, hair falling back out of her eyes. "And where is Odd by the way?" Ulrich shrugged.

"Him and Kiwi left about a half hour ago and headed out the back doors." She fell back onto his pillow. "So when are you leaving for Japan?"

"Three-ish weeks. And then I'll be back three days before school starts," she answered.

"I'll be back the day before you then. I think Odd gets back the night before class starts or something ridiculous like that." She rolled over, feet hitting the carpet before standing up.

"That's Odd for you." She gave him a hundred watt smile in her brightest attempt to ignore what was coming next. "I should probably let you get settled in. You have an early morning and I don't plan on getting up till noon." Ulrich stood up as well.

"Unfortunately for me," he joked.

"Keep Aelita out of trouble at least, ok? She gets a little rowdy around you boys."

"Hey!" Ulrich laughed, giving her a light shove. She shoved back. "I will if you will," he bargained. Yumi raised an eyebrow.

"If I will what?"

"Keep yourself out of trouble." She smiled, pulling him into a hug. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, ok," she agreed, finally.

"I'll miss you, Yumes," he admitted, bright red.

"I'll miss you, too." She released him reluctantly and awkwardly stepped back. "Have a good summer. Keep in touch."

"Well, I expect to see you on that webcam of yours weekly with the rest of the gang," he said, face still flush. She nodded, backing out the door.

"Bye Ulrich."

"Have a good summer, Yumi."

A/n: Thanks for reading! Stand by for chapter two. R&R!