The Experiment Tournament

Chapter 9: Round Three and a Major Setback

As the halftime show was nearing its end, experiments were already getting into their seats, ready to see the third round. 5-6-4 was so anxious that she had to run to the bathroom again and it wasn't very easy to do that since there was already a crowd even before she left her seat. She finally got a chance to get back into her seat five minutes before the halftime show ends. Meanwhile, Experiment 6-0-4 (a.k.a. Houdini) sat down onto his own seat located right behind 5-6-4 just a level above her seat. After two rounds, 6-0-4 had eaten all of his snacks and had drank all of his soda. Now he was back with another lap full of popcorn, hot dogs, sandwiches, and a large Coca-Gullock soda. 6-0-4 placed the bright red colored soda in-between his legs as he balanced all his other snacks in his arms. Both 5-6-4 and 6-0-4 waited anxiously for the fight to start.

"Welcome back," said 6-2-5's voice over the speakers. "Now that everyone has had their refill of junk food, it is time to begin the third round." The audience cheered with joy. Excited cheers and chants were heard everywhere as experiments sat in anticipation for the fight. "As you may know, we are at the midpoint of the tournament. After this, the four remaining contestants will face each other for the title of champion in the fourth and fifth rounds. The first two experiments to start round three will be Experiment 5-2-3 vs. Experiment 5-2-9." There were cheers from the audience as the two experiments came out onto the arena. Experiment 5-2-3 (Slushy) and Experiment 5-2-9 (Digger) positioned themselves behind the red lines, ready to fight for the privilege of going to the fourth round.

When the bell rang, 5-2-9 began drilling into the ground by spinning like a top on his drill shaped tail. He burrowed into the ground, drilling so fast that he was completely underground before the blast of could air fired by 5-2-3 could cover 5-2-9 in frost. Thinking fast, 5-2-3 propelled himself into the air by blowing cold air onto the ground under him. As he did, his cold air created a huge block of ice just right where he had been standing. 5-2-3 landed onto the block of ice and stood there, waiting for 5-2-9.

5-2-9 attempted to drill underneath 5-2-3 like he had done with previous opponents but what he didn't anticipate was the ice. When 5-2-9 drilled through the ground, he ended up drilling through the ice, which gave 5-2-3 enough time to jump off the ice as 5-2-9 burst out of the top of the huge ice cube. As 5-2-9 stood on top of the ice cube he had just drilled through, 5-2-3 fired cold air from his mouth. Startled, 5-2-9 jumped out of the way but the could air got all over the left side of his body, covering half his body in cold frost which was freezing cold to 5-2-9.

Not wanting to give up, 5-2-9 began digging into the ground for another attack. Concerned that 5-2-9 wont fall for the same trick twice, 5-2-3 blew out some cold air and began spinning around, spewing could air in all directions. The audience watched in amazement as 5-2-3 produced a huge cloud of could air and that air formed a huge chunk of three feet thick ice that covered the entire arena. With all this ice covering the ground, 5-2-9 would have a hard time sneaking a surprise attack but there was a flaw in 5-2-3's plan. He had forgotten to cover the ground he was standing on in ice. Within the huge chunk of ice that 5-2-3 had created, there was a hole in the center where 5-2-3 was standing on and before he realized his mistake, 5-2-9 exploded right out of the ground underneath 5-2-3. The drill poked hard into 5-2-3's back, tossing him into the air where he landed hard onto the ice and shattered into pieces. This allowed 5-2-9 the chance to burrow back into the ground while 5-2-3 quickly reassembled himself.

Cursing angrily for making such a foolish mistake, 5-2-3 immediately filled the hole with ice. Now with the hole sealed, 5-2-3 waited for any sign of 5-2-9. For a long time, everything seemed quite. 5-2-3 stood there on the ice, watching and waiting for any sign of 5-2-9. Suddenly, 5-2-9 appeared but it didn't burrow to the surface. Instead of burrowing out of the ice like 5-2-3 had expected, 5-2-9 was burrowing inside the ice, creating long tunnels within it. 5-2-3 cautiously watched 5-2-9 as he burrowed through the ice. 5-2-3 expected 5-2-9 to come bursting out of the ice but instead, he burrowed many tunnels underneath 5-2-3, thinning the ice that 5-2-3 stood on. Before 5-2-3 realized what was happening, the ice collapsed and 5-2-3 fell into the ice tunnels.

He landed hard onto the piles of broken ice and the cold ice floor below him. 5-2-3 quickly got back onto his feet and that was when he saw 5-2-9 burrowing towards him at a fast speed. Thinking fast, 5-2-3 blew cold air towards his feet, rocketing himself into the air and out of harms way. 5-2-3 landed gracefully onto the hard cold ice and that was when he noticed 5-2-9 digging through the ice towards him. 5-2-3 once again rocketed off the ground with his ice breath and soared high over the ice. 5-2-9 came bursting out of the ice right were 5-2-3 had been standing earlier. As he fell to the ground, 5-2-3 then exhaled cold air down upon 5-2-9 but he immediately burrowed back into the ground to avoid the attack.

The audience was on the edge of their seats as they watched the fight before them. After spewing so much ice, 5-2-3 was beginning to grow tired. 5-2-3 stood near the edge of the ice block where 5-2-9 had not burrowed into. He was panting as he waited for any sign of 5-2-9. Suddenly, 5-2-3 saw 5-2-9 burrowing out of the ground and threw the ice at a much more furious pace than before. It seems that 5-2-9 is getting more desperate to get at 5-2-3 judging by how quickly he was digging through the ice. 5-2-3 was about to jump out of the way when suddenly, he had an idea. It was a risky idea but he had to try it. He kept his eyes on 5-2-9 as he quickly drilled through the ice. People in the audience were screaming for 5-2-3 to get out of the way but 5-2-3 held his ground as the drill came closer and closer to him.

5-2-9 exploded out of the ice, the tip of his spinning drill jamming hard into 5-2-3's gut but he bared the pain as the force of the drill tossed him into the air and that was when he made his move. Using all the breath he could manage, 5-2-3 fired a cloud of cold air upon 5-2-9 and before he had the chance to escape, 5-2-9 was frozen in a huge cube of ice, freezing him upside-down just as he had dug right out of the ice. Blowing all that could air propelled 5-2-3 towards the center of the arena where he landed onto the hard ice ground. Injured and weak, 5-2-3 got back onto his feet to see his opponent still held paralyzed inside a chunk of ice.

The referee began counting to ten and everyone, even 5-2-3, was holding their breaths and saying their prayers. 5-2-9 didn't have enough room inside the ice in order to drill himself free so he couldn't get out even though he tried so hard. Once the referee counted to ten, the audience cheered with excitement, chanting 5-2-3's numbers over and over again as people screamed with excitement. 5-2-3 didn't have time to celebrate with them. He collapsed onto the floor of the ice, exhausted and injured. As he waited there for the medics to pick him up, 5-2-3 was relieved that he had won and was going to round four.

With the arena covered in ice, it took almost twenty minutes for the maintenance robots to melt and clean off the ice then fix the holes 5-2-9 had created. After the repairs were done, 6-2-5 said over the speakers, "Well folks, thank you for your patience. Cleaning up this mess is not easy but we try to maintain our schedule. Now that the arena is ready for action, lets give a hand to our next two combatants, Experiment 5-2-5 and Experiment 6-1-9." The audience roared with cheers and "5-2-5, we love you" remarks as Experiment 5-2-5 stepped out into the open. 5-2-5 was the center of attention and once again, he was milking it for all its worth. 6-1-9 (Splodyhead) stepped out onto the stage, forcing himself to ignore all the cheers and chants for 5-2-5.

The two experiments positioned themselves behind the line, facing each other as if they were in a vicious staring contest. The bell rang and 6-1-9 responded with a relentless assault of plasma from his noise. However, 5-2-5 easily avoided the attack by disassembling all of his little blocks so that the plasma could pass between them harmlessly. The little cube-shaped pieces flew into the air and reassembled themselves into the shape of a large box located over 6-1-9's head. The box fell towards 6-1-9 with the intent of crushing him but 6-1-9 lifted his head and fired a plasma ball at the box. The box immediately split in two, allowing the plasma to pass harmlessly between the two pieces. The two halves of the box came back together once the plasma passed and then the box smashed 6-1-9 in the head.

Cheers could be heard from the audience as 5-2-5 pulled off another one of his dissemblance tricks. The box remained on top of 6-1-9, crushing him under the pressure. 6-1-9 was too dazed by the blow to struggle free but he didn't have to because it wasn't long before 5-2-5 disassembled himself and then reassembled into his natural body shape. 6-1-9 struggled back onto his feet, groaning in pain.

"Oh, you are so pathetic," said 5-2-5 tauntingly. "Do you really think you have a chance against me? I'm last year's raining champion and it is my destiny to be champion again this year. You might as well give up and spare yourself the pain." 6-1-9's blood boiled with anger.

"How dare you talk as if you are 'almighty,'" said 6-1-9 before firing more plasma at 5-2-5 but 5-2-5 had responded by disassembling—allowing the plasma to pass through him harmlessly--and reassembling himself into the shape of a hammer. The hammer swung forwards and smashed into the ground where 6-1-9 had been standing earlier before he jumped out of its way. When the hammer missed his target, 5-2-5 directed the hammer towards 6-1-9 who began running as the hammer pounded the ground behind him.

The audience cheered and chanted as 5-2-5 chased 6-1-9 all around the arena. 6-1-9 ran as fast as his four legs could carry him but he was beginning to tire fast, not to mention he was still a little dizzy from that blow to the head. Knowing he can't run forever, 6-1-9 performed one of his most acrobatic moves. He leaped into the air and performed a back-flip over the hammer, missing it by mere centimeters. 6-1-9 landed right behind 5-2-5 and then fired several shots at the hammer but once again, 5-2-5 avoided the shots by disassembling into the pieces and the shots past through the swarm of flying cubes harmlessly.

5-2-5 reassembled himself into his natural form and said tauntingly, "Oh please, if I had a grandmother, she could shoot better than that." Angered, 6-1-9 fired a shot towards 5-2-5's head but 5-2-5 separated his head, allowing the plasma ball to pass through without striking its intended target. 5-2-5's head reconnected itself back onto his neck and he grinned mischievously. 6-1-9 fired more shots at 5-2-5's chest but 5-2-5's chest simply fell to pieces again and the shots missed. Desperate to hit 5-2-5, 6-1-9 was firing constantly in random directions but 5-2-5 easily dodged the attacks by tearing himself into pieces. The little cubes that made up 5-2-5's body easily dodged all the plasma that came their way as the cubes flew closer to 6-1-9 like a swarm of bees. The cubes got close enough to 6-1-9 to fly over and then behind him and then reform into a hammer. Before 6-1-9 could turn around to counter the attack, 5-2-5 smashed the hammer into 6-1-9's side, knocking him off his feet where he landed on the line that formed the boundaries of the ring. His head landed just outside the ring which was enough to declare him out of the game.

When the referee announced that 6-1-9 was out, the audience cheered with joy. Over the roar of the audience, 6-2-5 said, "Wow, 5-2-5 had totally creamed 6-1-9. Now 5-2-5, last year's champion, is going to be in round four of the Experiment Tournament." The noise from the audience was deafening when 6-2-5 announced that 5-2-5 was going to be in round four and, of-course, 5-2-5 was showing off his powers, much to the delight of all his female fans.

After 5-2-5 left the arena, the battle tank was once again air lifted over the stadium and placed onto the arena. The flying blimp filled the tank with water and once again, the robotic lifeguards began circling the tank.

"Once again we bring out the battle tank for this next fight," said 6-2-5 over the speakers. "We have only one aquatic experiment left in the tournament. Will this be the last time we will use the battle tank or will the tank be used in the fourth round? Only one way to find out. Now, lets bring out our next two contestants, Experiment 6-0-1 and Experiment 6-0-2."

The two experiments stepped out into the open as the audience cheered for them. Experiment 6-0-1 (Kixx) was waving to the audience as one of the fly-like lifeguards airlifted him off the ground. On his face, 6-0-1 wore goggles and a breathing apparatus. Since 6-0-1 could not naturally breath water, he was given goggles and a breathing apparatus as part of the rules. The breathing apparatus looked like a breathing mask with a cylindrical device attached to it. The device was connected to the mask by its side, leaving the two ends of the cylinder to absorb the air out of water every time 6-0-1 dives underwater and it takes in nothing but outside air every time 6-0-1's out of the water so he wouldn't suffocate. Experiment 6-0-2 (Sinker) was also being lifted to the tank where he and his opponent was placed onto two separate platforms. Once the combatants were in place, they stared each other down, ready to fight.

Cheers for both 6-0-2 and 6-0-1 could be heard as the two experiments prepared for combat. 6-0-1 was a lot more stronger, bigger, and heavier than 6-0-2 was but 6-0-2 was not afraid. He was in a familiar environment and he felt confident that no "land-walker" would beat him here. When the bell finally rang, signaling the fight to begin, 6-0-1 leaped into the air with amazing strength. He was such a far jumper that he landed onto the neighboring platform, landing right in front of 6-0-2. The move was so fast and so unexpected that 6-0-2 was caught completely by surprise, allowing 6-0-1 the opportunity to deliver a strong uppercut to 6-0-2's jaw using two of his fists. The blow knocked 6-0-2 onto his side, his face bruised and his jaw sore. The crowd cheered for 6-0-1, amazed by how easily and quickly he had knocked his opponent to the ground.

6-0-2 laid there on the smooth floor of the platform, dazed by the blow. He attempted to get back up when suddenly, 6-0-1 gave him another uppercut which knocked 6-0-2 onto his back. 6-0-1 then attempted to kick 6-0-2 in the gut but 6-0-2 managed to roll over to the side and got back onto his feet but before he could counter attack, 6-0-1 karate kicked 6-0-2 in the chest, knocking him into the water with a loud splash. 6-0-2 didn't return to the surface. Instead, he took the opportunity to dive to the bottom of the tank.

For a while, 6-0-1 stood on top of the platform, watching 6-0-2 in the water. 6-0-2 swam along the bottom of the tank, circling the platform that 6-0-1 stood on. Everyone waited for 6-0-2 to make his move but it didn't look like he was going to do anything. 6-0-1 was going to consider diving in after 6-0-2 when all of sudden, the platform he was standing on began to become very wobbly. Before 6-0-1 knew what he was up to, 6-0-2 had used his long fin to cut the pillar that held up the platform 6-0-1 was standing on. The platform toppled over and 6-0-1 fell into the water with a loud splash.

The audience watched in shock as the platform and 6-0-1 sank into the water. Once the water made contact with 6-0-1's breathing apparatus, it immediately activated, allowing 6-0-1 to breath. Through his goggles, 6-0-1 saw 6-0-2 charging towards him like a missile. 6-0-1 reacted by grabbing onto 6-0-2's fin as the two collided. 6-0-2 rammed 6-0-1 into the side of the tank. Afterwards, 6-0-2 began swimming in reverse in order to back away from the wall and then rammed 6-0-1 into the tank walls again. He repeated the process but as he was going to ram 6-0-1 into the tank a third time, 6-0-1 turned his feet towards the wall and when he was rammed towards the wall, he landed onto his feet while still holding onto 6-0-2's fin, allowing him to stabilize himself so he could slam 6-0-2 against the wall like a rag doll. 6-0-2 was dazed by the blow, allowing 6-0-1 to use his powerful four arms to swim away.

6-0-2 came out of his daze and charged towards 6-0-1, determined to defeat him. 6-0-1 saw 6-0-2 coming and he turned around to face him. 6-0-2 was charging towards 6-0-1 like a torpedo and 6-0-1 was just holding his ground. When 6-0-2 was within range, 6-0-1 gave a strong uppercut to his jaw. The blow knocked 6-0-2 so hard, it sent him spirally through the tank. As 6-0-2 tried to regain his bearings, 6-0-1 swam to the bottom of the tank and, using his great strength, he lifted the severed half of the pillar. Underwater, lifting the large pillar was not at all hard for 6-0-1 and even though the underwater environment was disorienting for him, he carefully lifted it like a bat and steadied himself on the floor of the tank. When 6-0-2 finally recovered from that punch, he turned around and charged towards 6-0-1 but before he could get too close, 6-0-1 swung the pillar with all his strength, knocking 6-0-2 like a baseball. The force was so strong that it knocked 6-0-2 clear out of the water and outside the boundaries of the tank where he was caught by one of the fly lifeguards.

"The winner, Experiment 6-0-1," announced the referee. The audience cheered with joy at 6-0-1's victory. 6-0-1 swam to the single platform that had not been cut down and he climbed on to it. Through his water filled ears, 6-0-1 could hear the audience chanting his numbers over and over again. Pleased with himself about his victory, 6-0-1 pulled off his breathing apparatus and goggles and was cheering with the crowd until the lifeguards helped him out of the tank.

As the tank was emptied and airlifted out of the stadium, Experiment 6-2-5 began talking over the speakers. "Well folks, we are nearing the end of round three and with three fights down, that leaves our next fight our last for the day. After that, the fourth and fifth round will continue tomorrow. Now, lets put our hands together for our next two contestants, Experiment 4-0-5 and Experiment 5-6-9. As you know, Experiment 4-0-5 is the underdog who had amazingly managed to make it this far in the tournament. Will he make it to the fourth round? It wont be easy considering how easily 5-6-9 had used his illusions to trick his two previous combatants out of the ring. Lets see how these two can fare against each other." The audience cheered as 4-0-5 and 5-6-9 got into the arena. 4-0-5 positioned himself behind one of the red lines while his opponent got behind the other. Despite his winning streak, 4-0-5 was not about to get cocky. 5-6-9 is a powerful experiment, more tougher than anyone of 4-0-5's previous opponents. 4-0-5 had to be careful, he knew he couldn't trust everything he sees around 5-6-9. He had to pay close attention to any signs of an illusion.

5-6-9 stared at 4-0-5 with an evil looking grin on his face which was exaggerated by the zebra stripes that covered his entire face and body.

"This fight is going to be easy," said 5-6-9. 4-0-5 extended his extra arms, antennas, and quills as he prepared for the fight. The bell rang and as soon as it did, the scenery around 4-0-5 had changed. One minute, 4-0-5 was standing in the middle of a battle arena, the next he was standing in the middle of a forest similar to the one 4-0-5 was in during the simulation training. 4-0-5 knew that 5-6-9 had just put him under an illusion so he extended his claws in preparation for a sneak attack. The metal blades on the end of his fingers shined in the factitious sun light. 4-0-5 stood there, waiting for 5-6-9 to make his first move.

Meanwhile, 5-6-9 was standing only a few feet from 4-0-5, making sure he kept himself at a safe distance since he knew the destructive powers of those sharp claws. Knowing it would be too dangerous to attack directly without a distraction, 5-6-9 decided to distract 4-0-5 by having a tiger appear in the illusion. The created tiger caught 4-0-5 by surprise as it appeared seemingly out of thin air. The tiger pounced on top of 4-0-5 and held him pinned to the floor of the forest. 4-0-5 knew that the tiger was just an illusion but the tiger seemed very real none the less. The tiger was white except for some gray stripes all over its body. Its piercing yellow eyes stared down upon 4-0-5 as if the tiger could see into 4-0-5's thoughts. The tiger held 4-0-5 under its weight, holding him pinned to the ground. Its fetid breath hit 4-0-5's face every time the tiger breathed. From the audiences' perspective, 4-0-5 was lying on the floor of the arena as if he was fighting off an invisible foe. Some of the experiments were laughing loudly at this display. From her seat in the audience, 5-6-4 was nervously watching 4-0-5 as he was helplessly pinned to the ground.

"Come on, you can do it," thought 5-6-4.

With determination in his eyes, 4-0-5 grabbed onto the tiger's chest and then used all the strength he had to push that tiger off himself but it wasn't easy since the tiger held him with all its weight and 4-0-5 was way too close to those snapping jaws and sharp claws. With a cry of strain, 4-0-5 pushed the tiger off him enough to allow him to get onto his feet and once he was standing, he began wrestling the tiger as it clawed at him. 4-0-5 had to use all four of his arms in order to hold the tiger in place, leaving him with no way of attacking back. 4-0-5 was held in place as he fought desperately to keep the tiger off him.

5-6-9 watched as 4-0-5 fought his imaginary tiger. Now that 4-0-5's focus was on the tiger, 5-6-9 snuck up behind 4-0-5 and karate kicked him in the back of the head. At the same time, the tiger disappeared and the blow to the head knocked 4-0-5 face first into the muddy forest floor. Dazed from the attack, 4-0-5 struggled back onto his feet and began slashing the air with his claws where the attack came from, desperate to hit something. Of-course, 5-6-9 kept within a safe distance from 4-0-5 and 4-0-5 could not see him since he was still in 5-6-9's illusion.

Next, 5-6-9 created an illusional swarm of bees which began flying around 4-0-5. Like before with the tiger, 4-0-5 knew the bees weren't real but they felt real and so did their stings. 4-0-5 swat desperately at the bees as they continued to sting him repeatedly. As 4-0-5 fought the bees, 5-6-9 created an illusion that someone kicked 4-0-5 in the back. 4-0-5 thought he was being sneak attacked again but in reality, the attacks were an illusion. 4-0-5, ignoring the sting of the bees, spun around and began slashing the air where the attack came from. 4-0-5 suddenly felt another kick to his left and 4-0-5 spun around and slashed in the direction where the attack came from and suddenly, he found himself back in the arena.

The imaginary forest had disappeared and so did all those bee stings and tiger claw marks that covered 4-0-5 body. Instead, 4-0-5 was standing in the middle of the arena back in the Experiment Tournament and standing right where he had just slashed was Experiment 5-6-9 holding his stomach where 4-0-5 had cut him. Thinking that he had managed to cut 5-6-9 which forced him to release his illusion, 4-0-5 took the opportunity to continue punching 5-6-9 before he could conjure another illusion.

4-0-5 began punching and kicking 5-6-9 repeatedly, mercilessly striking 5-6-9 with every kick and blow 4-0-5 could manage. He was unaware, however, that the whole thing was an illusion. Like he had done before, 5-6-9 had created the illusion that his opponent was winning. In the illusion, 4-0-5 could not see that he was actually punching air instead of 5-6-9. The hallucination projected in 4-0-5's mind showed him that he was punching 5-6-9 repeatedly. As he did, the illusion showed the audience chanting 4-0-5's number over and over again which motivated 4-0-5 to continue his attack on the figment version of 5-6-9. In the illusion, 5-6-9 was bruised and beaten. He quickly turned around and began to run but 4-0-5 knocked him over with a good shove of his shoulder. 4-0-5 then picked up 5-6-9 by his legs and arms and then threw him towards the edge of the ring but he fell short. 4-0-5 ran over to finish off 5-6-9, unaware that if he gets too close, he would lose the fight….

Meanwhile, outside of 4-0-5's hallucination, the audience was watching and some were laughing at 4-0-5 as he continued to attack the air and getting ever more closer to the edge of the ring with every punch. Meanwhile, 5-6-9 stood from a safe distance.

"Oh no, it looks like 4-0-5 is under 5-6-9's illusion," said 6-2-5 over the speakers. "Any closer to the edge of the ring and he will be out of the tournament." Experiments were sitting on the edge of their seats as they watched 4-0-5, especially 5-6-4 who was sweating with tension.

"Come on, 4-0-5, snap out of it," said 5-6-4 to herself.

Meanwhile, 6-0-4 was also on the edge of his seat, shoveling pop corn down his throat as he watched mesmerized by the fight below. 6-0-4 was unaware that the red colored soda that he held in his lap was beginning to tip due to him leaning forward and before he knew it, the entire cup of Coca-Gullock had fallen out of his lap and the red colored soda dumped itself all over 5-6-4, soaking her fur. 5-6-4 cried out in surprise as her fur was soaked in ice cold soda.

"Who did that?" demanded 5-6-4. Angered and dripping all over, 5-6-4 spun around to face 6-0-4 who had cowardly blinked his eyes in order to turn himself invisible and then ran off in fright, abandoning his pile of junk food.

Meanwhile, down in the arena, 4-0-5 was busy fighting 5-6-9 in the illusion. After several punches and kicks, the imaginary 5-6-9 was pushed mere feet away from the edge of the arena. Tired, 4-0-5 stopped delivering his viscous kicks and blows and when he stopped to look at 5-6-9, lying on the ground and badly bruised, he realized something.

"Wait a minute, 5-6-9 hasn't fought back the whole time I've been pounding on him," thought 4-0-5 to himself. "Infact, he hasn't attempted to block my attacks, return any attacks, or try and create another illusion." This realization struck 4-0-5 as odd. As the crowd cheered for 4-0-5, 4-0-5 began to grow suspicious. "I've never received this much positive feedback from the audience, not even when I got into the arena or defeated the other experiments in the previous rounds. Something's not right here" Smelling a trap, 4-0-5 held his ground as he had done before, not daring to move from the spot he stood on.

When 4-0-5 stopped attacking 5-6-9's illusional duplicate, 5-6-9 began to grow concerned that 4-0-5 may be onto his ruse. Hoping to regain 4-0-5's confidence, 5-6-9 allowed the illusional version of himself to fight back. 4-0-5 watched as the figment of 5-6-9 carefully got back onto its feet and began punching 4-0-5. 4-0-5 took several blows from the illusion and although the illusional pain he felt seemed real, 4-0-5 knew it was fake so he held his ground.

5-6-9 began to grow angry.

"Impossible, how did he discover that this was an illusion?" asked 5-6-9 to no one in particular. Now that his plan was ruined, he had to fight physically and he thought out loud how to do it. "If I deliver a good strong blow to his head, it would surely knock 4-0-5 unconscious but to do that, I must hit him just right with just the right amount of force." After debating his options, he decided to run towards 4-0-5 and then use the force of his momentum and the strength of his legs to leap into the air and karate kick 4-0-5 in the head. With his goal set in mind, 5-6-9 charged towards 4-0-5.

As 4-0-5 stood there enduring the attacks of the illusionary 5-6-9, something caught the corner of his eye and what it was flaw in 5-6-9's plan. Creating a realistic illusion requires a lot of focus and because 5-6-9's focus was more on knocking out 4-0-5 than maintaining the illusion, it was beginning to fail and 5-6-9's anger was also hindering the illusion. Out of the corner of his eye, 4-0-5 saw a faint glimmer of 5-6-9 coming right at him. 4-0-5 wasn't sure if this was one of 5-6-9's tricks but he knew he had to chance it. He kept one eye on the glimmer of 5-6-9's silhouette as he remained still.

As 5-6-9 got close enough to strike 4-0-5, he leaped into the air with his one leg outstretched, aimed for 4-0-5's head. What he didn't realize was that 4-0-5 saw the attack coming and with a quick turn of his body, the foot sailed right past him, missing its target. Seizing the opportunity, 4-0-5 extended his claws and then slashed at 5-6-9. 5-6-9 cried out in pain as the claws cut into his chest, canceling the hallucination entirely from 4-0-5's mind. 5-6-9 landed hard onto the floor of the arena, clutching his chest in pain. Pink colored blood oozed from three long cut marks that ran along his chest. Although the wound was only skin deep, he was bleeding and it hurt a lot.

As 5-6-9 laid there on the floor, clutching his chest in pain, 4-0-5 grabbed him by the neck and tail and then lifted him off the ground. Since 4-0-5 was so close to the edge of the arena, he ran towards it with the intent of throwing 5-6-9 out of the arena. As a last desperate act to save himself, 5-6-9 conjured an illusion in 4-0-5's mind. Before he knew it, 4-0-5 found himself trapped underwater. In the illusion, 4-0-5 was on the bottom of the ocean, walking slowly under the water with the surface high above his head and fish and sea weed surrounding him. 4-0-5 held his breath since, in his mind, he could not breath. Also, his eyes couldn't see with all the water around him and he was becoming disoriented. Knowing that this was all an illusion, 4-0-5 forced himself to avoid the natural urge to panic. In the water, he felt weightless but 4-0-5 assumed he was still on dry land in real life so he stopped running. He could no longer see 5-6-9 in his grasp but none the less, his hands still held tightly onto something, even though he couldn't see it. Running out of air and left with no other option, 4-0-5 threw his invisible captive through the air. As soon as he did, the illusion immediately ended and 4-0-5 found himself back in the ring, watching 5-6-9 sail through the air and land on his buttocks just outside the boundaries of the ring.

"You're out," said the referee. "The winner: 4-0-5." The audience cheered with amazement as paramedics came by and carried the bleeding 5-6-9 out of the area to be healed by 5-3-3 in the infirmary. Although it looked like he won, 4-0-5 wasn't sure if it was real or if it was one of 5-6-9's tricks so he stood there as if ready for battle. In the audience, 5-6-4 could see 4-0-5 standing there and even though she couldn't use her mind reading powers on 4-0-5 from this distance, she figured that he thought he was still in an illusion. Since he wasn't out of range for her telepathy, 5-6-4 telepathically said to 4-0-5, "Don't worry, you won." 4-0-5 was surprised to hear 5-6-4's telepathic voice in his head. He still wasn't sure if the voice was real or an illusion but his intuition told him it was real. Convinced that he had won, 4-0-5 raised his arms in the air and celebrated with all the amazed and excited audience members that were cheering for him.

After 4-0-5 left the arena, 6-2-5 said into the speakers, "Wow, that was an amazing fight. Once again, the underdog of the tournament has beaten his third opponent, placing him into the fourth round of the Experiment Tournament. I tell you folks, 4-0-5's bravery and skill has shown us all that you don't need fancy powers to succeed. All you need is the will to accomplish your goals and 4-0-5 has done just that. Now that the final match in round three is over, we shall clean up and continue the remainder of the tournament tomorrow. In round four, our combatants will be Experiments 4-0-5, 5-2-3, 5-2-5, and 6-0-1. All four of these combatants will battle each other for the winning crown. It is going to be an intense fight so don't miss it." The audience cheered loudly as, one by one, they left their seats. It was already past lunch time and for those experiments who didn't fill up on snacks and junk food, they were hungry and ready to go out for lunch. The buses waited outside the stadium as crowds of experiments got onto the buses for a ride home or a ride to a nearby restaurant.

However, 4-0-5 was not outside amongst the crowds. Instead, he was in the infirmary where Jumba had set up a feast for the experiments in the tournament. All 32 experiment were invited to the party, allowing them to sit on hospital beds and feast on a large meal prepared for the occasion. The table was covered from corner to corner with all sorts of delicacies from all over the galaxy including exotic meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, specially prepared fish, and all sorts of foreign snacks. Using a disposable plate and silverware, 4-0-5 began dining on some cooked bird from the Cleptloc solar system.

During the feast, the four experiments in the fourth round were showered with compliments and congratulations, especially to 4-0-5 who had never had so much positive attention from his fellow experiments:

"You were amazing."

"I didn't think you could make it this far."

"I guess we were wrong about you." 4-0-5 was receiving so much attention that he couldn't believe it. He had finally earned the respect of his fellow experiments. However, despite all the compliments, there was something that nagged at 4-0-5: where was 5-2-5? 4-0-5 had scanned the entire infirmary but there was no sign of 5-2-5 anywhere. Infact, he hadn't even come to the party. This puzzled 4-0-5 and he began to wonder if 5-2-5 was up to something. Suddenly, the door to the infirmary opened and in stepped Jumba who walked towards 4-0-5 as he was finishing a large bird leg. Jumba tapped onto 4-0-5's shoulder with his massive finger to get his attention. When 4-0-5 turned around to face his creator, he said to him, "4-0-5, we need to talk in my office."

Meanwhile, 5-6-4 was still in the building. She hadn't left to the buses like all the other experiments did. She wanted to go see 4-0-5 and congratulate him for his victory against 5-6-9 and for getting into the fourth round. However, 5-6-4 was still all wet and sticky with the soda that was spilt all over her so she decided to wash up before meeting 4-0-5 in the infirmary. She managed to find a girls' locker room in the building which, oddly enough, was rarely used, even during the tournaments. Since no one was inside, 5-6-4 decided to use the showers in the locker room. The green walls of the locker room matched the green lockers that took up much of the space of the locker room. 5-6-4 quickly found the bathroom which came complete with towels, sponges, and shampoo. The shampoo was a concoction made by Jumba. It was specially formulated for the care of an experiment's skin and fur and when 5-6-4 applied it to one of the soft sponges and began to lather herself with it, it emitted a soft fragrance that smelt very sweet to 5-6-4.

5-6-4 stood under one of the showers as it spread warm water onto her body. Using the shampoo and sponges 5-6-4 had found, she scrubbed gently at her fur, removing all the soda that was spilt on her. The soda came off surprisingly easy and after only fifteen minutes, 5-6-4 was cleaned up of all soda, restoring her fur back to its usual lavender hue.

5-6-4 dried herself off using one of the towels. Her fur was a little damp by the time she put the soaked towel away but she figured her fur would dry with time. She left the locker room and was surprised to see Jumba standing just outside the locker room, waiting for her. Surprised, 5-6-4 asked, "Jumba, what are you doing here?" Jumba didn't answer right away, nor did he look at her. His four eyes were pointed towards the west wing. Since 5-6-4 couldn't make eye contact with Jumba, all her telepathic powers could decipher was that something was troubling Jumba and it concerned her.

"5-6-4, I need you to step into my office, please," said Jumba. Bewildered by the request, 5-6-4 proceeded to follow Jumba through the hall, not sure as to what was going on.

5-6-4 was led to a large wooden door which had the words "Jumba's office" written on it in big bold letters. He opened the door and 5-6-4 stepped into a large office that looked more like a school principle's office with desks, chairs, and a filing cabinet. Sitting nearby, in wooden seats too big for them, was 5-2-5 and 4-0-5. 4-0-5 turned around and when he made eye contact with 5-6-4, 5-6-4's mind reading powers revealed that 4-0-5 was surprised to see 5-6-4 in the office and was also surprised to see her all wet. Her powers also revealed that 4-0-5 had been taken from the infirmary by Jumba and was sent to his office. He had no idea as to why. 5-2-5 kept his head away from 5-6-4 as she walked in but even though 5-6-4 couldn't see his face, she could still make out what looked to be a grin, as if he was up to something.

5-6-4 was given a seat next to 4-0-5. Jumba sat down into a large seat located right behind the desk. He kept his eyes low to the ground to avoid eye contact with 5-6-4. He then said to 4-0-5.

"4-0-5, what happened between you and 5-6-9 in today's fight?" asked Jumba softly. Surprised by the question, 4-0-5 asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm meaning, how did you know that you were in an illusion?" asked Jumba. "We all saw how you stopped before you crossed the edge of the ring so you clearly knew that you were in an illusion. So how did you know?"

"Well, I was fighting the fake 5-6-9 and when I realized that he wasn't fighting back, I figured he must have been a fake," answered 4-0-5.

"Oh please," said 5-2-5 sarcastically. "Jumba, you don't honestly believe that 5-6-9, your greatest hallucination experiment, could possibly make a mistake like that?"

"I have to admit, it is rather unusual," said Jumba.

"Exactly, that's why I suspect there is more to 4-0-5's secret than what he's admitting," said 5-2-5.

"Just what are you implying?" demanded 4-0-5 defensively as he stood up from his seat.

"4-0-5, please sit back down," ordered Jumba. When Jumba spoke to 4-0-5, he turned his head towards him, accidentally making eye contact with 5-6-4 and when 5-6-4 read his mind, she gasped in horror at what Jumba was thinking.

Angered and horrified, 5-6-4 jumped out of her seat and said, "Jumba, I would never have done such a thing. I had nothing to do with 4-0-5's victory."

"What's wrong?" asked 4-0-5.

"5-2-5 told Jumba that he thinks that I had used my powers to tell you that you were in an illusion during the fight," said 5-6-4.

"What?!" shouted 4-0-5. "What's wrong about that?"

"The rules of the Experiment Tournament clearly states that an experiment cannot receive help from an outside source while a fight is in progress," explained Jumba. "If she did in fact tell you telepathically that you were under an illusion, then that would be considered helping a combatant during a fight and thus you both would be prosecuted for this crime."

"But how could she possibly do that?" demanded 4-0-5. "I was under an illusion."

"5-6-9's illusions can block out all five senses but his powers cannot filter out telepathy so it is possible," explained Jumba.

"But Jumba, you know 5-6-4 would never do such a thing," protested 4-0-5.

"Why not?" asked 5-2-5, pointing his stare towards 4-0-5 for the first time in that office. "Everyone knows how close you two are. I bet you two have been working together to cheat your way through the first three rounds."

"That's a lie!" shouted 4-0-5 as he jumped to his feet.

"Silence, both of you!" ordered Jumba and the two experiments said nothing more. Jumba calmly turned his four eyes towards 4-0-5 and said to him, "Now, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to go over the evidence. In the meantime, I want you and 5-6-4 here as I do so and as soon as I've seen all the evidence, I will then decide your guilt or innocence. I must warn you however, cheating in the tournament is a serious offense. If I find probable cause to believe that you did in fact receive help from 5-6-4 during the fight, then I have no choice but to expel you from the tournament." 4-0-5 got back into his seat, a look of total shock and disbelief was written all over his face. As he sat there, a single sentence was repeated over and over again in his head: "This can't be happening."