It was a beautiful sunny clear afternoon at the Xiaolin Temple. It was near the end of the school year for the monks with graduation just around the corner. Inside their school classroom the monks were working quietly to finish their final exams in the amount of time they had. Never before in their lives had the results of a test meant so much to them. These test results would determine their very future.

Master Fung glanced at the clock once more before clearing his throat. "Alright time is up. Please put your pencils down and leave your exams were they are. Dojo will collect them for me please."

"Alright kiddies no last minute switch ups. Be satisfied with the work you've done and hand in those papers. Don't look so anxious I'm sure all of you did well on all your exams. Here you go Fungy poo! All twelve exams ready to be graded."

"Thank you Dojo I appreciate it. Now before I dismiss you I have a few things I like to discuss with you. As you know these final exams will determine if you receive your high school diploma and graduate. I want to assure each of you that in the event you don't pass that you can earn your degree after six weeks of summer school. It will take me a little over a week to score all your exams and determine class valedictorian so until then please don't badger me with questions. During this time period you shall have no more classes and I've suspended your training. Use this time wisely to plan your graduation ceremony and party as well as to reflect what you want to do with your future. I know many of you are concerned about what path in life to take next so I offer you a few words a wisdom by a famous philosopher. 'When you come to a fork in the road and your unsure of which of the two paths to follow then get off the road and take the third.' Meditate on what I've said and don't forget to talk amongst yourselves about what you want. Your dismissed enjoy the rest of today and tonight we shall have an ice cream party to celebrate the completion of your final exams."

As the monks filed out of the classroom they began to talk amongst themselves about which exam was hardest. "I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown on the math final. I couldn't for the life of me remember anything about exponents, distributing properties, or anything else we covered in algebra," Lu stated.

"You think math was hard, what about our exam on world history? I know I didn't get all my facts straight on World War Two or the Koran War," Raimundo admitted.

"I'm sure that all of us did just fine. We studied for hours and quizzed one another thoroughly on the subjects. I wouldn't be surprised if it was tie between myself and Crystal for class valedictorian," Stacey added.

"If I don't get it I'm sure I'll be happy with balavictorian. Still I hope it doesn't hurt my chances of getting into the University back home. I need exceptional grades if I'm to have any chance at receiving a full scholarship to pay for my college education," Crystal admitted.

"You said it sister. Why does it cost so much for any of us to pursue our dreams?" Auara asked.

"Excuse me if I sound foolish, but what are you all talking about? It sounds like you plan on leaving the Temple and never coming back. That isn't so is it? Friends what about your responsibilities as a Xiaolin Dragon? You swore to defend the Kung Site, protect the Shen Gong Wu, and to defeat the Heylin Forces! Don't you want to stay together and become full fledge Dragons? I don't understand!" Omi cried in frustration.

The group looked at one another and sighed. They had forgotten they hadn't discussed their concerns for the future with Omi yet. Taking a seat in the courtyard they tried to explain to the little monk why they wanted to leave.

"Its not that we don't want to stay here and do our duty Omi. Heck most of us can't imagine not waking up here and seeing all our friends smiling faces, but their comes a time in a person life when they have to think about what's best for them. We have to think about our dreams and what we want to do with our lives. I mean I really miss my Papa and visiting my Mother. Papa expects me to take over the company one day and I want to become a famous fashion designer. To do both I need to get two degrees. I would have to spend many years in a prestigious University in Tokyo. To ensure that nothing interfered with my class work I wouldn't be able to see Jack for a long time or be a Xiaolin monk. It's a difficult choice."

"I've been getting offers for months now to attend MIT. Do you realize what an opportunity this is for me if I accept? It would be a chance to share my genius with the world and expand my horizons. It's not something you dismiss lightly chrome dome. If I don't accept their offer now I might not get another chance."

"I'm really homesick for Texas little partner. Going back there and helping out my sister made me realize how much my family needs me. I've applied at several schools in Texas. I've gotten offers from three and now it's just a process of elimination to decide which ones the best fit for me."

"I want to return home as well Omi. My people need me to protect them from harm. I could do some real good if I perfect my shawoman skills. Not only that I've been accepted at the Culinary School of Delights in Sydney. All I have to do is figure out my finical plans and I'm off. I really would miss my life here, but I do need think I need to be thinking about my own future."

"Well you know I've never been the best of students and Brazil may not have the best collages, but I really want to further my schooling. I've been offered a sports scholarship to attend Rio Dijnaro finest collage. I could finally figure out what I want to do with my life if my soccer career doesn't work out."

"As much as I hate my parents for forcing me to apply to schools I know their right. If I want to design my own line of high speed motorcycles or invent new extreme sports I need the knowledge that collage offers me. Who knows I might actually even go to grade school."

"Yo you know my hopes and dreams Omi dawg. I mean I might no become a professional ball player or a rap star, but with the right schooling I could make something of my life. I applied to Hudson U and was accept man. I haven't given my final word on the matter, but I'm seriously thinking about accepting the offer yo."

"The Bombay Art Society has offered to pay my way through art school if I start this year. This is my one chance to study the masters of art and to make a better life for myself. I can't just dismiss it to continue doing my duty as a warrior now can?"

"I was accepted at two schools. One was Julliard the other was the University of Cairo. Both have been known to produce outstanding dancers/actress. My mom gave up on her dream as a model to pursue a more sustainable career. I don't know if I have the courage to do the same Omi."

"I applied to have the schools in the state of California and got response back from a third of them. I really want to study more about botany, zoology, and photography even. This could be my chance to distribute my hybrid project. Even the Heylin Forces couldn't stop me from considering this opportunity."

"Oh Omi you've known about my desire to return home and become a geologist like my grandfather since the day we met. I really want to have my dream come true. It would be a great way to honor his memory. I would most likely have to stay in Iceland for years and there's a good chance I been sent abroad at one point, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't ever see you again. It just all of us need some time to think about the situation. I assure you by the time our graduation party rolls around all of us will have made a decision okay?"

"I'm most upset by this news and mostly because I didn't think about pursuing a higher education myself. Its tough in China to get into a collage because of limited funding. I always assumed we stay together forever. I won't stop you guys from pursuing your future. If you do leave then lets enjoy our time together by planning the best graduation ceremony and party ever!"

"Yeah!" they all said in unison. The all started shouting out ideas and plans about what to do, the decorations, what to serve, and even whom to invite. They had just started to make headway when a loud vrring noise filled the air. It sounded an awful lot like what Jack's Dimensional Gateway sounded like when it was turned on. Rushing to the Storage Shed they flung open the doorway just as a purple beam of light shot out towards the center of the courtyard. The monks, Chase and Chakra, and Master Fung and Dojo watched as the light solidified into the shape of two adults, three teens, and yellow mouse.

"Now that was some trip," the older teen said.

"I'm so glad my hair didn't get ruined!"

"Yeah, but did we make it is the question."

"We must have. This place looks exactly like the video footage."

"Then where is everyone I wonder?"

"Pika pi?"

The small group heard someone coughing and they turned to see everyone standing and staring at them. "Hi guys! It's good to see you all again. We decided to drop by for a visit hope you don't mind," Ash said.

The trio soon found themselves buried under a huge dog pile as the Xiaolin Warriors raced over to hug their friends. Everyone was laughing, hugging, and asking a million questions.

"My what a warm welcome. I didn't expect such a greeting. You must have missed us a lot," Professor Oak commented.

"You have no idea sir. The monks never stopped going on about their adventures with the children and Pokemon. It was quite difficult to train them for awhile," Chase said as he, Chakra, and Master Fung approached the adults.

"Oh it's so nice to meet you Mr. Young and you must be Chakra. My you two don't look like immortal warriors. Still I guess everyone changes. My name is Delia and you've met Samuel. That's my son Ash, and his friends Brock and Dawn."

"Yes we've watched the show with our children. We know quite a bit about you actually," Chakra replied.

"It is good to see you all again, but I must confess. I'm at a loss to explain your unexpected arrival. What exactly are you doing here?" Master Fung asked.

"I can explain that. So have you guys been watching us on TV since you returned here?" Ash inquired.

"Yeah we saw everything play out exactly as it should. Don't give us that look you knew we couldn't tell you what to expect," Lu responded.

"Your new movie The Rise of Darkrai just played the other day. We got an advanced copy in both Japanese and English. It was so cool how you guys saved the day. Anyways you were saying?" Raimundo prompted.

"Well if you saw the Hearthome Tag Battles and our recent adventure with Darkrai then you know we needed a break from our adventures at the moment. A nice vacation to recharge our energies."

"We couldn't decide on any place in our world so then we thought about visiting you. We've missed you a lot and want to see what kind of adventures you got into. So we called up Ash's mom and Professor Oak and asked them if they wanted to come. They did so we all activated our Poketches and voila were here!" Dawn exclaimed.

"How much time has passed in your world since you left? In our world only about another month has gone by, but by the looks of things all of you've been very busy," Brock said eyeing their Shoku robes.

"Six months have passed since we last saw you guys! All of us have earned our Shoku rank!" Kimiko exclaimed.

"Yeah and our high school year just ended. We took our exams and now we're going to have to wait a week to see if we graduate," Jack added.

"Hey why don't we show you our adventures later? Right now why don't we get you guys settled in and give you a grand tour. Would you like that?" Auara asked.

"Yeah and maybe later we can see how far you've guys got with your martial arts training without us there to guide you," Dagwood added.

"I think that would be a splendid idea. Dojo, please take our guest luggage to the guest rooms. Since the council of monks is currently at our sister temple there is plenty of room for you. Samuel, Delia would you like to join us for a cup of a tea while the kids catch up? I'd be happy to give you a tour later."

"That sounds wonderful. Here Dojo I hope I didn't pack to much," Delia said handing her suitcase to the little dragon who was crumbling why he always ended up the bellhop. Giggling Delia and Samuel joined the other adults as they headed to the porch for some afternoon tea.

"Yo before we begin giving you the five cents tour of our place why not let the rest of the family out?"

"Jermaine's right. We would love to see them all again and since were so far away from any major cities there's almost no chance of them being spotted. I'm sure your Pokemon would love a chance to stretch their legs."

"Stacey's right. Come on out everyone!" There was a loud pop and brilliant flash of light as the rest of the family appeared. They all let out squeals of joy when they saw their old friends and rushed over to greet them.

"Well aren't you the cutest little thing. Last time we saw you Happiney you were nothing but a hard boil egg. Now look at you. You could give me a run for my money in arm wrestling," Clay added as the little playhouse Pokemon lifted him high into the air.

"Hi Chimmy! Man your spiritual energy is doing a lot better since you left that jerk of human Paul. You did awesome at the Hearthome Tag Battle. Keep this up and you might just end up evolving!" Callie encouraged the little Pokemon as she hugged him tightly.

Crystal had beckoned Aipom over to her to speak with the little monkey in private. "Hey sorry about thinking you were a guy before. You confused me when you spoke and then you didn't bother to correct me."

"Aipom pom pom," Aipom chatted telling her it was okay. She wondered what the real reason for Crystal dragging her away in private was.

"Look I don't believe in telling others the future, but there's something you should know okay? In a few weeks Ash is going to trade you for Dawn's Buiezel because you love being in contest so much and he wants you to be happy," Crystal began.

"Aipom? Aipom pom!" Aipom eyes sparkled with joy at the thoughts of competing in contests and having fun with Dawn. She loved gym battles true, but contest were more fun. Still she couldn't believe Ash would love her enough to give her to someone else just so she could be happy. Aipom looked at Crystal in confused why she would be telling her this.

"I'm telling you this because I hope that you and Ash can still stay close friends and help him out when he needs it. I just have a bad feeling that something is going to go wrong with this vacation and I hope that you'll make your time with Ash count."

"Aipom!" Aipom promised to do just that. Even if she were going to be traded to Dawn, Ash would always remain her friend. Jumping onto Crystal's shoulder the two of them rejoined the group. "So are we all ready to go."

"Yes and as the Temple's longest resident I shall lead the tour. Our first stop the bedrooms," Omi said as he proudly led the group to the building that housed the monks' rooms. Omi explained how it was traditional in Chinese culture to lay out a home so rooms couldn't be accessed centrally. They arrived in the rooms.

"Man I thought you guys were kidding about the stalls, but you weren't. How does any of your stuff fit in here?" Dawn asked as she surveyed the stalls. You could tell by its contents who lived where and there was only a small mat to sleep on and a curtain for a door.

"It may be a little cramp at times, but trust me you find creative ways to make space for your personal items," Lu remarked.

"Hey come on lets continue with the tour shall we? Next up I like to show you our classroom," Omi said as he directed them towards another room.

"Impressive. You wouldn't expect to find this cozy little room in an ancient temple like this one would you?" Brock stated as they walked around the desks and examed the computers.

The next few stops on the tour were just as interesting. They saw the monks project rooms were they could work on their hobbies, the Great Hall, a living room were the monks watched TV and movies. They even showed them the Stacey's private worship area and Kimiko's VR simulator room.

The tour had just completed with room of ancient scrolls when Dawn spied a door that was only partially closed. Leaving the group she opened it and was amazed to find herself in beautifully lit room with several shelves and display cases all holding different trophies, plaques, or photo's. On the wall were several calligraphy writings dictating the achievements of warriors past. "Wow this place is amazing. I wonder what it is."

"It's the Temple's Hall of Honor as we like to call it. All the past Dragons are honored here for their great achievements. Don't worry about the others I sent them ahead to the greenhouse. I was hoping we could have a chance to talk. You seem really down still about what happened at the Hearthome Contest. I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it," Auara asked politely as she entered the room with Dawn's Pokemon in tow.

"What's there to say? I didn't get past the first round. I worked so hard on my double performance to make it the best it could be. I even took your advice about the seals and my own appearance and it still wasn't enough. I'm just a loser," Dawn said bitterly.

"Piplup, lup pip!"

"Chipa chipa!"

"Buneray!"

"Buiezel!"

"Your Pokemon are right Dawn you aren't a loser and feeling sorry for yourself is the worst thing that can happen. You should be proud of what you accomplished and work harder so you'll win next time."

"Well that still doesn't explain why I didn't get past the first round! My combinations were perfect! I did everything right and still I failed! It doesn't make any sense. Maybe winning the Floraroma Contest was a fluke," Dawn stated glumly.

"Okay now that is just wrong Dawn. You earned that ribbon. Let me tell you something important okay. You can do you very best and make no mistakes, but still lose. It happens in life. If you did make any mistakes it was being overconfident that you would win."

"Piplup?"

"Chipa?"

"Huh overconfident? What do you mean by that? Are you saying I should be confident about winning Contests? I'm sure that when you audition for a part or compete in a dance off your not confident as well."

"Oh Dawn that's not what I meant at all. Let me tell you a story okay and maybe you'll understand. I was three years old when I started my dance lessons and a year later I took up acting courses. It was something to do while my parents worked. It wasn't until I was five that I started getting really passionate about the two and I wanted to compete for awards. Now there weren't a lot of acting options for a five-year-old Egyptian American in Cairo at the time, but my dance studio was holding a dance competition for all ages. All we had to do was make up a routine combining two different dance styles together."

"So what happened next? What styles did you chose?"

"I chose tap and belly dancing to honor my heritage. I practiced for hours on end with my parents, Juliet made me my costume, and I chose my makeup and hairstyle. On the day of the competition I was very nervous, but also confident that the judges would like my routine and award me first prize. I watched all the others perform with such talent and skill I worried that no one would notice me. Finally it was my turn and boy did I wow everyone. My tap was in time and when I switched to belly dancing you should have seen their eyes light up. I was so sure I would win, but in reality I didn't even get an honorable mentioning. I was so crushed I wanted to give up dancing right then and there. I would have if my mother hadn't given me some sound words of advice that I still follow today."

"Which is what exactly? How not to be a loser."

"No she told me this. 'There is a big difference between being the best and doing your best' Dawn you did your best and that's what counts. So what if you didn't get to the second round what matters is if your satisfied with what you did. I know Piplup and Pachrishu are happy with themselves and they haven't dwelled on the loss. I also happen to know for a fact that Buneray and Buiezel are itching to show off their double performance later and I'm eager to see it as well. So feeling better?"

"Yeah I am. No need to worry about me! How about later I ask Ash to have a double battle with me so you can see the combinations I came up with?"

"That would be great. Now come on let's go find the others. I'm sure there at the Vault by now."

While the monks were showing the trio and entourage the Temple Master Fung, Chakra, and Chase were enjoying a nice cup of tea with Delia and Samuel. The group had a lot of catching up to do and the guests had a lot of questions they wanted to ask.

"Your world is so amazingly beautiful at least here. I'm hoping I'll get a chance to study some of your animals and see how they compare to the Pokemon of our world," Samuel said.

"I'm sure there will time for that later. Right now you should rest and relax. Enjoy what we have to offer you now, because it doesn't stay quite for very long here," Master Fung remarked offhand.

"You lucky we've decided to take the week off from training our monks. After completing their high school classes I think the time off will help them in their decisions about what they truly want out of life. As much as I hope they decided to stay and continue with their duty, but I will understand if they wish to leave. They do have the right to pursue their dreams," Chase said.

"You surprise me Mr. Young. From what we witnessed you were one who abandon your dreams for power. If I recall correctly you gave up your soul for the power that would help you achieve your dream, but that didn't quite happen now did it?"

"No it didn't. I've learned that all dreams have a dark side to them if you look hard enough. I put my sister through so much and I deeply regret it. Still there's nothing I can do to change the past. I can only hope to be there for her in the present and provide her with a future."

"Please Chakra do you have any regrets with how your life turned out?" Delia inquired.

"Not exactly Delia. If you mean that I regret being an assassin and working for the Order of Concordia no I have no regrets about that. Even when my past came back to haunt me I still believed I was right. If I have any regrets it's about my son and missing seeing him grow up. If anything I envy you Delia. You got to spend ten long years with your son and then even when he's on his journey to achieve his dream he calls you and comes home to spend time with all the time. I had to sever all contact with him in order to protect my son from harm. I doubt I'll ever make it up to him."

"You shouldn't beat yourself up Chakra. I saw everything when kids showed us their adventures. If anything you're an extraordinary mother and a great wife. You and your husband freed your child from a deadly curse and love each other very much. Your choice to leave Omi here was the right one. He grew up to be fine young man and what matters now is what you do with your son. Believe me nothing else matters."

"Now that is one tear jerker of a speech. I think I'm going to cry. Wah!" Dojo cried causing everyone to giggle.

"Yo Dojo why you crying dawg? Did someone step on your tail?" Jermaine wondered as the group of teens joined the adults for some tea. Even the Pokemon decided to quiet down long enough to have a cup poured for them.

"This place is amazing! I can't believe that were actually here!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly.

"Its certainly different then our world that's for sure," Brock remarked.

"Yeah I would love to see more. Hey you think we could even see the remains of the Ancient's city?" Ash wondered.

"I'm afraid the catacombs are off limits to visitors. They need to be preserved and I'm afraid about what your Pokemon would do down there. Besides isn't there something else you would like to do on your vacation here?"

"Well were wondering if we could visit the home countries of the other monks. A tour of your world would be very interesting. We'd see a lot animals, plants, and interesting sights," Ash asked shyly.

"Yeah we want to see what the rest of your world is like!" Dawn said.

"We wouldn't be imposing on you Dojo if we asked you take us would we? After all with your help we'd only be gone a couple of days instead of weeks," Brock added.

"I don't know. Don't you guys want to stick around here more? What about the monks planning their graduation ceremony and party? There's a ton of work to do."

"Oh Dojo leave that to Delia and me. I'm sure between the two of us we can come up with a great ceremony and have everything ready by next week or so. It would be a good chance to help the kids with making their final decisions about their future plans," Chakra insisted.

"Also if you're worried about the chores getting done don't be. I brought Mimey with me. He just adores doing chores. Come on out Mr. Mime!" Delia shouted as she tossed a Pokeball into the air. With a snap a brilliant white light transformed into her Mr. Mime.

"Hey I thought you never caught him! When did you get a Pokeball for him?" Jack asked confused.

"Since we were unsure about what would happen during the trip here so I gave Delia a Pokeball to keep Mimey safe. Besides she needed to make him officially hers for a while now."

"Well I hope this mime is a lot less trouble then Le Mime. That guy never knew when to leave well enough alone yo," Jermaine stated.

"Enough about Mr. Mime we have something else to discuss. If we're going to go visit our homes we need to disguise the Pokemon. There's a slight chance someone might recognize Ash, Brock, and Dawn, but everyone would know instantly that the Pokemon weren't from this Earth," Stacey pointed out.

"Why not use the Moby Morpher to disguise them as pets you would see with tourists? As long as they didn't use their powers no one would be able to tell the difference," Auara stated.

"What do you guys think about that?" Ash asked. The answer was a resounding yes from all the Pokemon. They really wanted to go with their trainers and the monks on a tour of the world.

"So I guess it's settled. Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early. Why don't we plan our trip over some dinner?" Raimundo asked.

"Yeah and over desert we can show you videos of how the others gained Shoku rank. Come on what are we waiting for?" Lu demanded.

Everyone enjoyed the rest of the day together. Dinner was a wonderful blend of traditional Chinese food with a few specialties from the Pokemon world. After watching the adventures of what had happened to the monks since they returned home everyone settled in for the night.

No one had any clue that not to far away an old enemy of both the trio and the monks was watching them through a magic eyeball. "So they've arrived. Good my plan can finally come to pass. Enjoy your rest Guardians and Warriors. Soon enough your vacation dreams will turn into a life or death nightmare," hissed the enemy.