"The intrepid explorer, Tombo, gazes through the dense underbrush. He silently creeps up on the unwary specimen... the vicious, ruthless Saminaracasaurus! However, the brave hero is unafraid. No hostile native shall keep him from finding the lost treasure of... umm... uh... Agbodloo!" the Kougra yelled as he leaped from the bushes, knocking over his startled "prey".

"Tombo!!!" his sister screamed, "What do you think you're doing?!" the Kyrii shoved her little brother off of her, then got up, dusting her pith helmet off.

"Aww sis, I was just playing! You know, make-believe!" the Kougra said, smiling innocently.

Samina groaned. "You and that game of yours... I swear! Could you just keep you head out of the clouds for ten lousy minutes?!?"

Tombo held his head down, and mumbled, "Sorry sis." The Kougra felt uncomfortable under his sister's harsh glare, and busied himself by pushing a small rock around with his paw.

The Kyrii gave him one more growl for good measure, then adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. "We'll, come on. We'd better catch up with the rest of the class, before we get left behi--"

The little Kougra looked up to see why his sister had stopped mid-sentence. "Uh-oh," he said. "Did we lose our field trip group again?"

Samina screamed, stomping her foot with rage. "Arghh! You ALWAYS mess things up, Tombo! Why do you have to go running around, oblivious to reality all the time? Now we've lagged behind, and are lost! When will you realise that there are NO aggressive natives, NO undiscovered ancient temples, and absolutely NO HIDDEN TREASURES!" Samina was screaming so loudly that her face was turning blue.

"Sis--"

"Come on!" she commanded. Breathing heavily, the Kyrii grabbed her brother by the wrist and started dragging him down the path. "We need to find our class!"

"But, sis!" Tombo protested.

"What?!"

"Look!" the Kougra cried, pointing to...

"Wow, Samina! How cool!" Tombo cried, bounding up to it. "This looks just like the undiscovered temple in my make believe games! I wonder how long it's been here... do you remember seeing it before?"

"Yeah, right..." Samina snorted. "It's probably a mirage, or some kind of hallucination or something. Possibly brought on by hunger. After all, I am really, really hungry. Although, that wouldn't be the case, if you would STOP daydreaming and QUIT messing up my life!"

Tombo pretended to ignore the comment about his daydreaming.

"About the hallucination thing, sis," he said. "How could BOTH of us have the same hallucination?"

"I don't know," Samina answered. "Anyway... c'mon! If we can catch up to the group, then--TOMBO! What are you doing?! Get back here RIGHT now!"

It was too late. Tombo had entered the dark mouth of the "temple". Blackness closed in all around him. He was going to explore this place, whether Samina wanted him to or not.

"The brave explorer barely manages to escape the deadly rage of the Saminaracasaurus." Tombo whispered, feeling his voice echo in the dark room around him. "He finds the temple he's been searching for. It is quite dark and soggy, but he will continue on, in search of the treasure..."

Tombo heard Samina's feet pounding after him. Any minute now she would catch him, ruin his adventure, and yell at him some more. However, that's when he heard some footsteps that couldn't have belonged to his sister...

...because the last time he checked, even mean Kyriis didn't make the ground tremble beneath them with every step.

Jumping behind a weathered column, Tombo tried to see where the footsteps were coming from, but the room was too dark.

"Samina! Samina! Where are you?" His voice echoed off the walls and returned to his own ears before he heard a reply--but it was not quite the reply he had hoped for.

"RROOOOAAARRRR!" resounded the terrible response, the monster's terrifying growl reverberating throughout the temple. Tombo felt more footsteps thundering towards him as he wondered what had become of his sister. But he was not going to lose to any monster.

"This is the legendary Tombo!" he called to the beast, hoping that his lies would scare it. "I have slain dragons, climbed mountains, and fought raging battles with only my with only a golden rope, my glittering sword, and pet Doglefox to aide me. I can light up an entire room until it glows with my fierce presence, as you shall soon see if you do not flee! You have messed with the WRONG KOUGRA!"

However, Tombo had never even seen a magical rope (or glittering sword), much less wielded one--how he wished for a sword at that moment! For now, though, he could do nothing but maintain his courage. As he peeked out from behind the column, he could see only blackness.

"Well, here goes..." he said a little weakly. Then, remembering his courage and his sister, he shouted, "I'm coming to get you!!!"

With that, he lept out furiously from behind the column. Instantly, there was something different about the room. Suddenly, it was brighter--almost glowing, in fact. His eyes startled by the sudden light, Tombo squinted around the room, trying to take in his surroundings.

He saw columns aligning four vast walls, with a worn-down marble floor underneath them. On one wall there was a wooden door with rusty hinges, but the other walls were bare--the sudden light was completely unexplainable. For some reason, however, Tombo began to feel as though it was actually coming from within him.

He'd had no more than a moment to think about it, though, as the giant beast slowly approached him. Tombo now noticed that it was strangely familiar; in fact, it bore a bizarre resemblence like his sister

"So... we meet at least, Saminaracasaurus." He instinctively reached over his shoulder and pulled out a long cord of golden rope, to tame the beast before realizing what had just happened. His legendary tale was coming true, even as he told it...

Snapping the golden cord like a whip, he commanded the Saminaracasaurus. "Down! Obey me." The creature didn't have that in mind. Advancing forward with a step, the beast held her paw like a hammer, raising it in preparation for attack. The movement was swift... so swift, in fact, that Tombo wondered how he had avoided being crushed. Nevertheless, Tombo held the sword above his head, its flat the only thing stopping the creature's paw from crashing down upon him. Tombo, however, was countering her strength with his own legendary power, which he felt filtering into him. Muscles that Tombo had only used in his dreams now stood out with exertion. It was too much... he could feel himself starting to lose the battle.

"The creature's power appeared to exceed that of the great adventurer," Tombo mumbled. "However, his cunning could never be matched." At the exact moment when the Saminaracasaurus would have overpowered him, Tombo lashed out with his cord, lassoing its ankle.. Before it could react, he rolled away from the creature and pulled with all his might, which was now quite considerable.

Taken off guard, the beast crashed to the floor with such a sound that it vibrated throughout the entire temple. Tombo rushed to the creature; his victory seemed closer at hand every second. However, he would realize, a moment too late, that he'd been too cocky in his approach. The creature rolled over and shot out the same iron-like fist, which sent Tombo flying across the room, connecting solidly with one of the many columns.

Weakly moving his shoulders in effort to get up, Tombo felt awfully dizzy... and helpless. He looked up and saw the Saminaracasaurus approching. "Is this the end for the great explorer? Never! In the past, he has faced greater trials than this and lived." Tombo added under his breath, "He shall just need a miracle to get out of this spot..."

That's when he saw something furry jump across his vision, just as the creature loomed close enough to strike. Of course! It was his trusty Doglefox. Tombo sprang up, realizing that he hadn't been injured, just dazed. He became one with his weapons, fighting and slashing and dodging, his Doglefox doing the same around him, until the mightly creature finally obeyed him.

He jumped on the Saminaracasaurus' back, which was the final step in dominating them. They would serve as a wonderfull steed for Tombo, the legendary explorer! He surveyed the scene around him -- there were no sign of an exit. Although this would have bothered him a few moments ago, it didn't matter now. After all, he was searching for treasure! Tombo spotted a passageway. "Onward!" he commanded the creature.

It had only been a matter of seconds before he'd regretted this command, when he realized...

...he was sitting on his sister!

"TOMBO! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!?" Samina roared, Samina roared, bucking him off her back in disgust. She was panting heavily, sweat coursing down her damp, lush brown fur.

Tombo looked around unbelievingly. There was no Saminaracasaurus, no magic rope or glittering sword... not even his faithful Doglefox remained. There was no marble on the floor, just damp, dry leaves and mold. The walls of the temple were there -- crumbling, covered with vines and strange runes. The columns were trees, which were growing out of the debris-littered earth.

What had happened? Tombo thought. He looked around again, and found that the small passageway was gone. Oh well, he thought, the brave explorer will find his treasure next time... Tombo the Great never gives up!

Samina screamed. Tombo bolted, his orange and black striped fur prickling in fear.

The red Kyrii was shouting curses at a crumbling wall. Tombo was confused. Why would she do that? It was a wall -- it had done nothing to harm her.

"The way out!" Samina yelled in rage, "It's gone! Now we're stuck here, and its all your fault, Tombo. I HATE YOU!!!"

It was true. Where the passageway once was, a crumbling wall identical to the rest now stood. There was no other way for them to get out. Although the walls were c rumbling, they were steadfast, and Tombo recognized that the vine creeping over them was poisonous. Therefore, they were unable to climb them. Tombo paid no attention as Samina ranted and raved. He was staring at some words, which were carved in the place where the way out should have been.

"Welcome" the message read, "to the Temple of...

"TOMBO, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!!!!" Samina roared, shaking with rage. "Can't you stay focused for more than ten seconds?!?"

"Sorry sis," Tombo said meekly. "I was just looking at..."

"'Sorry, sorry, sorry'... that's all I ever hear from you!" Samina interrupted. "I'd be a lot better off if of if something came along and ate you!"

Tombo backed away from his sister, horrified by what she just said. "Don't say that, sis! I'm your only brother... you can't really mean that."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" Samina roared. "I wish a huge spider would come and gobble you up! I can picture it now."

"No sis, don't! Don't think about it!" Tombo said with a mix of fright and warning in his voice. "Whatever you imagine will come true! Don't--" Despite his protests, it was too late.

Out of nowhere, a six-foot spider appeared at the other side of the room. Its eight eyes fixed on Tombo like he was a big juicy fly. The spider charged straight towards them, but Samina, whose back was to the spider, couldn't see it.

"Samina, look out!" Tombo shouted.

"For what?" Samina asked angrily. "Another figment of your imagination?" She then turned her head, just in time to see the spider closing in on them. The Kyrii shrieked, but just stood there, paralyzed by fear.

"Samina... no!" Tombo shouted as he pushed his sister out of the spider's way. Now, however, the spider closed in on Tombo -- its fangs bared, looking like it hadn't eaten in months. "Sis," Tombo whimpered as the spider pinned him against the wall. "Help me!"

"Wha-what can I do?" Samina said, her voice shaking.

"Imagine something! Anything!" Tombo cried.

"I'll try!" Samina said, closing her eyes and trying to think of what would fend off a giant spider. That's when, suddenly, in her hands there appeared...

...a quiver of lava arrows and a bow. Samina looked at the giant spider, quickly shooting an arrow at it just as it lunged at Tombo. The lava arrow struck the spider, and it squealed and ran away, disappearing into the darkness.

Tombo fell back, breathing quickly, "You saved me, Sis. No more thinking negative things! This is the Temple of Illusion. Anything you think will happen."

"I-I'm so sorry Tombo! I almost really got you killed. I don't hate you, I promise." Samina said, beginning to sob.

"I know you didn't mean anything by it." He walked to Samina and gave her a hug. "Since we're here, and we know how the cave works, lets make an adventure out of it!"

"No! Tombo, no!" Samina shrieked. "No more of this, I don't want a part in anymore of your adventures."

"But we could fight monsters and find the treasure. Think of all the fun we could have. You could even imagine you were in a giant doll house or whatever it is you like..." Tombo began, his breath barely keeping up with his words.

"No, we shouldn't stay in here any longer Tombo. We need to catch up with our class!" Samina pleaded.

"But just think..." Tombo began again, "A giagantic beaver over there..." Tombo pointed to a dark corner, "And a thousand frogs there." All of these things appeared as Tombo thought them up. And Samina was turning red.

"Tombo, stop it! I'm not saving you again!" screamed Samina.

"Fine!" Tombo growled, as the beaver and frogs disappeared. "Lets go back to the group, and be nice and bored!"

Again as he said this, a doorway appeared and they hurried out. Tombo stopped to look forlornly back at the Temple of Illusions, as Samina hurried to find their field trip group. Tombo sighed, and followed along after his sister, and soon they had found their group.

"There you are!" their teacher yelled, scolding them. "Come on, you're late! We're studying moss growth on giant trees."

"Oh, thrilling," muttered Tombo under his breath, as he sat down nearby to sulk...

Immediately a blanket of white encircled him. Tombo looked around, shocked by the change in scenery. It was like he was in the middle of a cloud. There was nothing but white.

He sucked his breath between his teeth as he realized what had happened. He had not helped his sister escape the Temple of Illusions. He had merely brought them into yet another mirage.

"I'm in... Anywhere," he whispered softly, gazing around in the crystalline whiteness. A wave of fear washed over him, and he shouted: "Tombo, the brave explorer, escaped the endless nothing of Anywhere and returned to his sister Samina."

The white evaporated, vanishing like mist in the sunlight... and standing next to him was an irritated looking Kyrii. She glared at Tombo. "WHERE have you been, Tombo? Off adventuring again?" she demanded angrily.

"Samina, listen..." Tombo said urgently. "We're still in the Temple of Illusions."

Samina bore a blank look unlike herself. Tombo waved his hands in front of her eyes, but her gaze didn't shift. He gulped and said, "Samina smiled bravely."

The corners of Samina's mouth twitched and slanted upwards. She wore a look of determination.

Tombo stepped back, horrified. This wasn't Samina...

...it was another illusion! Tombo's eyes widened. They hadn't managed to leave the Temple; but the real Samina, wherever she was, must be under the delusion that she was out! The words of the Temple warning floated back to Tombo's mind: Think carefully, or you might end up wandering these catacombs for evermore. He felt a chill go up his spine.

I must not panic, he thought. I must be the master of the Illusions and save my sister! But how...?

Out loud, tentatively, he said, "Tombo, the clever explorer realized that it wasn't his real sister standing before him. He decided to use his magic map of the Temple's true layout to find where she was." Immediately the false Samina disappeared, and he felt something in his hand. It was a parchment map. Quickly, he unrolled it.

The map depicted a labyrinthine Temple, full of bizarre twists and turns. Oh no! he thought, I'll never find Samina now! But he forced himself to remain calm, and continued, "Tombo put all his mental skills to the problem. He wondered who would build a Temple of Illusion that would trap a passersby."

Why would someone...? Tombo thought to himself as he turned the map around and around. Suddenly he realized that the tunnels on the map looked like a spider's web! With an icy feeling of horror, he realized that perhaps the Temple of Illusions was a cunning trap. Possibly in which some monster dazed and deluded its prey, before hunting them down in the tunnels and eating them.

I have to find Samina before that happens! Tombo thought. He rolled up the map and stuffed it under his belt. Out loud, he said, "Tombo, the brave explorer ran through the tunnels, following his trusty Doglefox, whose sharp nose lead them unerringly to his true sister, Samina." The Doglefox popped into existence in front of him, and together they ran headlong down the twisting tunnels.

They ran and ran, until Tombo was puffing and panting, but there was no sign of Samina. Just when Tombo was about to give up in despair, however, he heard a sound...

"I told you we took the wrong trail, Tombo!" Samina screeched, as she followed her imaginary brother.

"Samina!" Tombo yelled behind her and scrambled after his sister. He stopped at the passageway and watched with horror as he realized where that final corridor led.

There, at the entranceway to the end of the tunnel, perched a giant spider. Its front legs folded neatly over one another in anticipation, as it watched its prey come closer. Its eight eyes gleamed a glossy red in the dim light emanating from the torches that lit the walls. Behind it, folded the closure of the massive web that the temple truly was. As he watched his sister travel footstep after footstep closer, he realized that he could never stop her in time.

'Think carefully, or you might end up wandering these catacombs for evermore.' The phrase ran over in his head. Physical combat was useless in this place. He had to be clever for them to truly escape.

"Think quickly," he muttered to himself, and the Doglefox whined in agreement.

"O-okay," he stammered in panic. "Tombo the Explorer and his sister Samina never found the Temple of Illusion. They never came upon that trail that day. None of this ever happened, and we'll be back, safe on the trail where we were before this all started."

The entire world lurched and spun around the young Kougra and the damp, brick walls changed to the green and browns of the forest and the cold floor turned to soft leaves and moss.

"Tombo! Wake up!" he heard his sister yell.

"Huh?" He stammered, as he lifted his head off his paws and watched the field trip group wander away. Had it just been a dream? Maybe it was all just a horrible nightmare and none of it was ever true! "Samina! You're safe!" The Kougra pounced on his sister in happiness.

"Ugh! Get off me!" She wrinkled her nose. "What are you talking about anyway? It's weird enough that you can fall asleep in the middle of a class trip anyway. Come on..."

Tombo looked around for a moment and smiled. Everything had just been one big illusion, but they were all safe now.

As the Kougra followed his sister along the trail, he heard the leaves rattle beside him and the furry brown shape of what looked like a Doglefox scurried along in the weeds.

Or were they?

The End