"Hey Jun! Did you like my jump?" Tai asked, swimming closer to his sister and Jun. "Er…sure it was great Tai," Jun smiled a little, putting her arms over her chest but still kept her shoulders under water. Slowly and as natural as she could, she walked behind Kari.

"You look a little cold," Tai gave her one of his best smiles, "Maybe you had too much time in the water today? I think your lips are turning purple."

"I'm fine," Jun bit the bottom of her lip to keep it from quivering.

"Hey Kari!" Tk and Davis swam up to her.

"STOP!" Kari told the two boys.

"What?" Davis asked.

"I um…" Kari looked over at Jun, "I lost my top."

"You what?" Tai asked.

"I lost my top!" Kari kept her shoulders underwater giving Jun a small glance, "Now don't come any closer!"

"I'll help you find it Kari!" Tk gave her his angel of a smile took a deep breath to go under water.

"Like hell you will!" Tai grabbed a nice fist full of golden locks and dunked Tk, "Nether of you are going underwater!" Tai warned Davis and Tk.

"But you sent TD underwater!" Davis whined.

Tai pulled Tk's head back out of the water.

"OW!" Tk winced, pulling loose from Tai's reach. "I was only going to help her find it!"

"Sora is brining me another top." Kari rolled her eyes.

"But I thought…" Tai frowned.

"What did you thought?" Kari tilted her head.

"Nothing, never mind." Tai glanced up at the bank where Matt sat on a blanket, watching.

"Hey everyone, what's going on?" Izzy came up from behind.

"Stay where you are!" Tai warned him, "Kari lost her top."

"I thought Jun lost her top?" Izzy frowned.

"You knew?" Kari stared at Izzy.

"No, it was Kar! Matt got it all wrong." Tai shook his head, "So don't come near."

"EWWW!" Davis started to back around, "My sister is naked!"

"Just the top of her," Tk frowned.

"AGH!" Davis started to hit his head, "Must get image out of my head!"

"WAIT!" Kari stood up, "You two knew that she doesn't have her top and you came over anyway!"

"I think I best be going," Izzy slowly backed up.

"I can't believe that you two would come over here knowing that one of us girls didn't have our top on! How would you like it if you were to lose your shorts and we still approached you! WAIT! Don't even bother to answer that!" Kari fumed, "I thought you were different Tai and you are no better Izzy!"

"Tai is only different when it comes to you," Tk shrugged.

"What is going on?" Sora stopped beside the clean blanket Matt sat on to look over at the lake. "Why are those boys around Kari and Jun?"

"I'm not sure but from here it looks like Kari is yelling at everyone." Matt shrugged. "And Davis and Tk are always around Kari."

"What happen?" Sora looked down at Matt.

"I don't know Sora but if you like, I can go wading out there and find out." He snapped at her.

"Don't get all pissy," Sora rolled her eyes.

"Then don't expect me to know what is going out there when I'm here!" Matt replied, flashing his blue eyes up at her. "Look, just go give Jun her top and…"

"You told them," Sora frowned, "You told the boys that Jun doesn't have a top and now they are swarming around her like…"

"I did not tell the boys…I only told Tai." Matt shrugged.

"How could you?" Sora growled and stormed off.

The air was dry from the rock Tai sat on. He needed this climb, he wasn't sure why but he had to climb this mountain of rocks, he just felt that it was the thing to do. He took a long drink of his bottle water yet his mouth still was left dry. 'It's too hot to climb today.' He thought, looking at the sun that swung high in the sky. Wiping the sweat off his brow, Tai glanced over this shoulder, his eyes rising to the top of the rocks. 'Feels like I'm not getting anywhere.' He sighed softly.

"Did you lose your way?" Sora sat down next to him. The harsh heat of the sun didn't even faze her. She even looked a little younger.

"No," Tai shook his head, "I'm going up there. I can't get lost if I am only going up!"

"Silly Tai!" Sora giggled and started hoping from rock to rock, making her way up the mountain.

"Sora, wait up!" Tai resealed his bottled water and started to follow her. She made it look so easy, never slipping or using her hands. It's as if she had wings on her shoes. Tai grunted as the rocks loosen under his footing and more then once, he slipped causing an abrasion on his cheek.

What seem like hours was actually a few minutes as Tai struggled up the hill. Glancing down, he saw a river below. The top of the pine trees stared up at him like needles in a pincushion.

"Hurry Tai!" Sora called down at him. She already made it to the top of the mountain.

"Coming!" Tai cried after her, pressing on, stumping on.

Finally, when his hand touched the very top of the mountain, Sora was there to help him over the side. "It's about time!"

"How did you get here so fast?" Tai crawled forward, letting the breeze cooled off his heated body. "My muscles ache!"

"Silly Tai!" Sora giggled again. "Come on! The other's are already here!"

"The others?" Tai rolled onto his belly and saw Izzy and Joe going down a sliding board. Davis and Tk were fighting over who was pushing Kari on the swings, Mimi was picking flowers and sticking them in her hair. Sora stood beside Matt, a soccer ball tucked under her arm.

"You kept us waiting Tai," Matt tilted his head a little.

"You're a kid," Tai frowned.

"So are you!" Matt said hotly.

"Yeah but you are a really small kid!" Tai stood up looking at the others. They were all kids again.

"Taller then you," Matt quirked up an eyebrow. Tai glanced down too see himself in his favorite shirt that his mother thrown out years ago. His shoes were untied, a pair of holes showed off his dirty kneecaps.

"I'm a kid," Tai frowned.

"DUH!" Mimi rolled her eyes from the field of posies. "That's what we've been telling you!"

"Ready to play some ball?" Matt asked.

"Ready to get your butt kicked?" Tai laughed and chased the ball Sora threw in the air. It only took a moment, a few seconds and the game was almost over. It felt like they had been playing soccer forever, yet according to Tai's watch, only minutes.

"Hey, do you know that time is different here?" Tai asked the others. "Matt? Sora? Kari?" He turned around in a circle, they were all gone. "MATT!''

"Over here," Kari waved to her brother. She now stood in front of a path, Tk holding her hand. Matt between Jun and Sora. Mimi was putting flowers in Joe's hair and Izzy stood there with his backpack.. "We are waiting."

"For what?" Tai scratched his head.

"For you," Sora smiled, "Come on!"

"Hurry, before it starts to get dark." Joe looked up at the sky.

"I don't like the dark!" Tk started to cry.

"It's okay," Kari patted his back.

"Come on Tai," Matt crossed his arms and gave Tai one of his stormy glares, "Lets go."

"But…I don't know where we are going." Tai walked up to them.

"Nether do we," Izzy told him, "But you are our leader…so lead."

Tai glanced at the faces that stared back at him before turning and heading into the woods. "Well…I guess if we stay on the path, we won't get lost. It's a nice, clean cut path. Straight ahead. How hard could it be?" Tai gave a weak laughed.

Soon minutes turned into hours, hours seem to turn into day but according to Tai's watch, only minutes went passed. Surprisingly the path stayed true to its course. It stayed a nice, trimmed path and only a few times Tai saw a few stones sticking through the rich soil. He could walk on this path forever, yet the others have seemed to have problems. Half way into the woods, Joe started tripping and stumping into Matt. Matt grew grouchy; Tk and Davis fought more and more over who was standing near Kari. Mimi had stopped humming and started to complain about everything and anything. Sora and Jun also picked up a few arguments.

"Just knock it off, okay!" Tai turned around to look at everyone. He had to give them a double take, they had seemed to age a little more now. When he turned back to the path, he finally realized he came to cross roads. The path lead into smaller paths over ran with weeds, large boulders, gnarly trees and darkness. Yet the path he was on was still neat and clear of obstacles. "Let's more on with this path." He took a step forward.

"Not me," Matt stopped.

"Why?" Tai frowned, "Is it because of Joe?"

"Matt?" Tk looked uncertain.

"No, I want to take that path." Matt pointed to the left.

"But look at it! " Tai stood there dumbfounded, "Why would anyone take that path! It is all run down! This path is easier."

"It's not the path I want to take!" Matt said hotly and stormed off to the path he chosen.

"Tk?" Tai looked at Matt's little brother.

"It's okay; it's his path Tai." Tk beamed at the older boy, "We'll see him again."

Tai watched as Matt walked further into the path until he but all disappeared form his view.

"Tai," Sora said softly, "I've been thinking and…well I need to go that way." She pointed to the path on the right.

"Why?" Tai asked, even more confused. "I thought we were a group."

"We are!" Sora reassured him, "But I think for now, we need to break apart and regroup later." She bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek then, like Matt, she headed for her path. One by one, each member said their good-byes to Tai and all he could is watch them go. Even his sister went off on a different road.

"This is a big mistake!" He screamed, yet no one was there to hear him. Turning slowly, his head down to the ground, Tai began on the path that was clear. He felt all alone for the longest time until he lifted his head and stood still long enough to actually look. There before him, paths webbed in and out of his. Smaller paths and there they all were, racing back and forth. They were laughing, waving to Tai, telling him to hurry up. He ran ahead and caught Kari in a hug.

"I thought you left me!" He kissed her cheek.

"Never!" She giggled. When she pulled away from him he noticed that she wasn't a child anymore. She wasn't an adult either. Tk came up beside him, he was almost as same height as Tai.

"We are all going over to the house." Tk told him.

"What house?" Tai looked confused.

"The house," Tk repeated, giving him a puzzling smile. "Hurry up Tai!"

"Hey Tai!" a female voice shouted. Sora and Matt were ahead of the group. Matt had his arm around Sora's waist and they were both waving to him. "Hurry up!" Sora giggled and freed herself from Matt to take off on a run. The other's ran after her.

"Don't leave me!" Tai yelled, trying to catch up to them. Every time he managed to come up beside on of them, he would be pulled behind again, losing sight of them once more. He slowled down to a walk, breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath. Looking around him he notice that he had come to a clearing of the woods and before him stood a large, dark house. All the paths lead to this house, all the paths the others had took came to rest in front of this house. He slowly walked around the house, noticing that it had many doors and windows. Stairways leading up, stairways leading down. Yet every time he tried on of the doors, they remain locked. He could see through the windows, he could see the others laughing before a roaring fire. There were more people in the house then just his friends, never seeing them before, yet at the same time he knew them. He loved them and he needed to be in the house be with them. He ran around the building again, pounding on the doors, hoping they would hear him and let him in. Finally, he came to the last door and out of desperation, he ran full force into the door, trying to knock it open.

"You can't get in by force," a voice came from behind him. Tai swirled around to see a silhouette of a female.

"Who are you?" Tai asked.

"You can't knock a door down, not in this house." The voice continued, as she hadn't heard him.

"I know you, don't I?" Tai asked, walking towards the girl.

"No, not yet you don't but you will…in time you will know me." The girl said softly.

"Why can't I see you?" He asked, raising his hand up to touch the shadow of a person, yet his hands slipped through her and the darkness before him swirled a little but quickly retook the shape. "You've been in my dreams before but I can never see you clearly."

"I'm not in your life yet," She merely said. "But they are." the girl pointed to the house.

"They won't let me in." Tai frowned. "I've tried but the doors are locked."

"Did you try the key?" the girl asked.

"What key?" Tai shook his head, "There is no key."

"There is always a key, Tai." The shadow raised her hand to produce the silver key. Tai slowly reached up and took the key from the girl. It lay heavy and warm in the palm of his hand.

"Where did you get it?" Tai asked.

"Back there, on the path. It dropped out of your pocket."

"But it's not mine."

"Are you sure, Tai?" The girl asked softly. "It's always been your key but you never realize you had it, did you? Now, when you need it the most you won't claim it? Try it. Go on." She gave him a push and even though his hands slipped through her body, her hands remain firm and real against his back as she shoved him to the door. "Go on Tai."

Tai gave her a slow smile before turning to face the door. He slipped the key into the lock and gave a turn. It opens, in gulfing him with a sweet familiar breeze, laughter roared through out the house. '

"Tai's here!" Kari came rushing forward, throwing her arms around Tai.

"Kari?" Tai looked at the young woman before him.

"Who else!" Kari giggled, pulling her brother into the house. Tai looked back at the shadows.

"Aren't you coming in?" Tai asked.

"Not yet, it's not my time." The girl smiled.

"Will I see you again?" Tai asked, he suddenly felt alone again. Even through he was in the middle of his friends, he felt alone.

"Yes, we will meet again and when we do, ask me into your life then." the girl smiled and waved as the door shut softly. "Until then, I'll see you in my dreams as well."

"You finally showed up?" Matt asked, a small child nestled in his arm.

"Yeah," Tai stared at the door, "That path I took. I got lost but I found my way back."

"You didn't go anywhere," Matt looked at Tai.

"Huh?" Tai woke up from the hemlock he fell asleep on.

"You said you found your way back." Matt corked up an eyebrow, "You were here the whole time."

"Tai talks in his sleep all the time," Kari laughed.

"I was sleeping?" Tai asked.

"Yeah you were sleeping," Sora patted his head. "Nice dream?"

"The best, I got lost!" Tai grinned.

"Do you want to try it in real life now?" Matt asked.

"Shush!" Sora swatted at Matt's head. "Leave him alone."

"I got lost in my dream, okay! I finally got it though," Tai smiled, leaning up on the cot. 'My friends might take different paths then mine but my path will always be the center of theirs.'