When we had to backtrack to Patcher's Place since we needed that card to pass through the Konpa Gate, Karis wasn't very happy with Tyrell's suggested shortcut.

"You want us to ride on one of THOSE metal deathtraps just to save time?"

…Actually, come to think of it, she seemed really irritated and on edge about the entire thing.

"Aw, come on, Karis! It's way faster than going on foot, and besides, this one seems a heck of a lot more sturdy than the other ones!" Tyrell's attempts to placate our group's Jupiter Adept were going nowhere fast.

"I'd much prefer walking than facing death by collapsing gondola! And how exactly do you think we'll be getting it moving, anyway? Pushing it along and hope that it doesn't stop halfway?"

"Well, since we have two Mars djinn, we have two people who can use Fireball Psynergy, so we can fire the gondola up that way... And if you're still worried about it, either I'll go first or Tyrell will." And with that, Karis finally backed down from her complaints, though she still seemed somewhat worried. Tyrell just looked at me with a mix between being grateful for me supporting his idea and annoyance that I succeeded where he could not.

"Yeah, Karis! It'll be fine, I'll even go first just to show you!" Tyrell actually chirped. He then proceeded to jump onto the gondola and summon up a fireball.

"Tyrell, aren't you going to check that it's—"

"WOOOHOOO!" And the gondola fired up and took off, Tyrell whooping with delight at the ride.

"—safe…" Karis and I just stood there, watching as Tyrell rode off on the gondola. After Tyrell got too far away for us to see him, Karis seemed to become less annoyed and more nervous. With every second we spent waiting for Tyrell to send the gondola back, the more nervous she got.

"…couldn't I just walk back?" Karis seemed uncharacteristically unconfident about this new turn of events.

"Karis, we've already agreed to do this, and it wouldn't be safe to let you head out alone. Besides, you know it's safer to travel in groups than alone!" My words of reason didn't seem to be as effective at convincing her as they were earlier. Just then, the gondola arrived, coming to a smooth stop and being ready to go again.

"Couldn't you just come with me instead of sending me out on my own?" Karis tried to reason with me, desperation apparently forcing the usual social conventions on the backburner.

At that moment, my usual ailment that Tyrell so helpfully described as "that Earth Adept thing of being really quiet a lot" took effect. The mental images of what Karis just asked me to do…be gone, you evil mental images! AWAY WITH YOU AND YOUR LACK OF REALIZATION THAT KARIS IS MY SISTER IN ALL BUT BLOOD!

Since I was understandably distracted by those evil images stuck in my brain, I'm not exactly sure how I managed to tie her to the gondola chair without her electrocuting me and then sending the gondola on its way without having Karis be extra crispy…and for some inexplicable reason I don't think that she'd be willing to answer…

Once I got to the other side, Tyrell was still apparently trying to wake her up. Luckily for me and my ears, Karis was still out cold.

"Why'd you tie her to the gondola, Matthew? Why was she knocked out in the first place?" Tyrell was many things, but I was particularly grateful at that moment for his overall obliviousness.

"I'll tell you later. Let's just get back to Patcher's Place, okay?" His short attention span was another trait of his that I was quite fond of.

"Uh…okay, whatever you say, Matthew…" With that, he slung Karis' unconscious body onto his back like a human-shaped backpack and followed me back to Patcher's Place.

-.-.-.-.-

It was when we arrived at Patcher's Place that Karis finally woke up.

"…urgh…wha happened…?" She seemed rather disoriented, giving me a chance to fabricate an elaborate tale of epic proportions that would enrapture the youth of all of Weyard for years to come.

"One of those Ape monsters appeared and hit you in the head, so I had to kill it. Since you were still out of it when I healed you, I secured you the gondola to make sure you got to the other side without falling off. We walked back to Patcher's Place with Tyrell carrying you, and then you woke up."

…Alright, so it's not that great of an excuse, but it works!

"But Matt, she di—OW! THAT WAS MY FOOT, KARIS!" Tyrell unwittingly attempted to send me into cardiac arrest when Karis managed to dislodge herself from our redheaded friend and landed atop his feet. While I'm not particularly certain as to how she managed that when she started out from the position of being carried like a backpack, I was very grateful for the distraction provided as the two began to bicker. Another awkward moment avoided, thank goodness!

"Okay, you two, break it up, let's just go through the Psynergy Training Grounds for that card, alright? Since we've been told that story so many times, it shouldn't be too difficult."

Oh, how I'd eat those words…

This is how I imagined how this scene would go, since silly me, first time I played the game I didn't understand why the Psynergy Grounds were important to traverse through...

Kindly review, even if it's to laugh at my blunder of epic proportions.