000 Disclaimer, I own nothing 000 Thanks for the huge response! That last chapter had the biggest response out of all of them. Most of you made a comment about this being like the Matrix……well that had two realities. The Matrix and normal….ness. This has three! And they're all uniquely different to each person :D Plus Malcolm didn't wake up in a pod of goo with tubes down his throat. Ok, so huge, hue thanks to: Tata, Lieutenants-Lady, Rinne, soultoast, KaliedescopeCat, Cha Oseye Tempest Thrain, Tobie Holloway (Thanks! But most of my stories are just happy accidents :D ), Hovis (none taken, most of my plot lines are a result of being strange by nature and having an admittedly weird set of friends-we're all such massive geeks! Lol ), The Libran Iniquity, Roaring Mice and Spootycup.

Whoa, longer A/N than I expected, but longer chapter anyway lol, read on! 000

Malcolm had had some pretty good wake up calls in his lifetime but this one took the proverbial biscuit.

The alien woman stared down at him smiling. He wanted to say something but his mouth was glued shut and he couldn't seem to get rid of the feeling that something had crawled into his mouth and died a long painful death before decomposing on his tongue, rendering it completely useless.

"This must seem strange to you," she said softly.

Strange? Now what could seem strange about waking up after dying in two different places to be confronted by someone calling herself my 'angel'?

No, strange doesn't quite cut it does it? Strange would involve waking up on Enterprise and realising I was still wearing the previous nights socks. Strange does not cover dying twice over and waking up in the middle of La-La-Land.

Of course, I could be dead. Which is possible. But unfortunately I feel like death warmed up rather than dead.

But of course I don't know what being dead feels like so I can't really comment.

"Malcolm, look at me," she said tapping his face lightly. "I need you to concentrate."

Concentrate. Yup, sure, I can manage that. I can fully concentrate on just how ROYALLY SCREWED I am. How's that?

"My name is Iona," she said. "I've been looking after you for the past five years."

Five years?

"I will explain everything to you," she said pushing back his hair from his forehead. "But I need you to concentrate for me, I don't know how much time we have before the Council realises you're awake. This situation is totally unprecedented and I'm not sure how they'll react."

Malcolm stared up at her, very slowly he nodded his head wincing as his neck cracked loudly.

I've not really got any choice have I?

"Everything you have known for the past five years has been a lie," she told him. "You have been living a scenario we designed for research purposes. The Council retrieval team found you and………Trip in one of your shuttlepods. You had crash landed on the surface of our world. Trip died on impact, you however, survived the crash. We brought you into our facility for medical treatment."

What? No, that's not how it happened. I don't know where you got your facts from but Trip didn't die. Trip can't have died………

Iona took up his hand and squeezed it gently. "You have to believe there was nothing we could do," she said sadly. "They brought you to me and I used our technology to…………download your memories. From your memories I created the scenario-The Enterprise Scenario. After treatment we inserted you into the system starting the scenario from the exact point you lost consciousness. From your point of view when you woke up on Enterprise nothing had changed."

She gave him a moment to digest this before continuing. "While you were locked in the Enterprise Scenario, we attempted to find the real Enterprise. We searched for a least a month before the Council discovered the Ship had been lost during an attack. They found no survivors. They eventually decided to keep you locked in the Enterprise Scenario and use your experiences within the scenario for research."

Iona paused and her eyes took on a look of desperation. "I tried to fight their decision; I tried to fight it for you. I wanted to send you back to your planet, I offered to take you myself………but they wouldn't allow it."

What can I say to that? God, this is all so confusing! I can't think………this isn't real. This can't be real. Enterprise can't have been destroyed!

But if Enterprise wasn't destroyed they wouldn't have left me, me or Trip. They would have come for us………

"The council became greedy, they decided it was time to take you out of the Enterprise Scenario and install you in a new one. They wanted research on family life on Earth. I made the Little Britain scenario and tried to bring the Enterprise scenario to a close. In the Enterprise Scenario you suffered severe injuries and was near death when I switched you over to the Little Britain Scenario. The switch was seamless and you were never supposed to know any change."

Iona suddenly laughed. The laugh seemed hollow and devoid of any emotion.

This isn't funny, this isn't remotely funny. This just can't be real.

But what reason would she have to lie?

There are plenty of reasons. She's doing it for information.

That's unlikely. She already knows practically everything. She seems to want to help me.

Christ! She called herself my bloody angel! She's obviously not playing with a full deck of cards! Does she expect me to believe all this? Does she expect me to believe the past five years of my life have been a lie?

I know they've been a lie. I always knew things were too good to be true. I always knew it couldn't be possible. Things just always seemed to work out. The solution would present itself at the last second and I'd save the day. Life just isn't like that. I knew what had happened. I just didn't want to believe it.

That's right. I was always looking over my shoulder because I knew they were there, I knew they were watching. I just didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it. I settled into the Scenario because it was comfortable and familiar. It was what I wanted.

"I made a mistake," said Iona, a look of self loathing on her face. "I assumed you had wanted a career in the Navy, it was involved in so many memories of your childhood that I became convinced it was the career you originally wanted. But I was so pleased with my new scenario, so convinced it would make you happy, that I overlooked your fears. The scenario didn't take because you fought against your fear. I realised then you could have fought the scenario at any time. You're different from anyone we've ever put into a scenario, Malcolm."

Well let's give me a prize! So I can fight my way out of reality and into insanity. Hurrah for me. Break out the champagne; I fought my way out of life as I know it.

"Don't be angry," she pleaded. "Please don't be angry! We only did this so you wouldn't feel the agony of knowing you were the last surviving member of your crew………I never dreamed you would wake up. Malcolm, I never wanted any of this to happen, you have to believe me."

Don't be angry! Don't be angry! How does she expect me to react? Oh, the past five years of my life have all been a sham, never mind what's for dinner! Christ! If my mouth was working she'd see the true meaning of the words angry, volatile, pissed off!

Calm down. Breathe easy and wait.

I suppose I can mouth off later when people aren't trying to talk to me. Or I could vent now and feel a hell of a lot better. Hmm so many sodding decisions!

"Malcolm, we have limited time before the Council discovers you're awake," said Iona seriously. "I have to put you back into a scenario, I can't help you escape. We'd………you'd never get far enough. If the Council finds you're awake they'll take you away from me………put you through invasive medical research. I have to put you back in."

She suddenly leapt to her feet and began pacing the room.

"I could put you in a mercy scenario," she said quickly. "If I did that the Council wouldn't be able to touch you. Then you at least could choose your own scenario, you could choose to either go back to the Enterprise Scenario or the Little Britain Scenario-with a few minor adjustments of course."

No………no…………

"No!" Malcolm managed finally, his voice hoarse. He sounded like a man of nearly a hundred years than a man just in his early 30's. It hurt so much to speak but he couldn't stand being silent any longer.

"No?" Iona asked moving to his side, anguish etched on her face. "I can't make another scenario in time, I could make adjustments but………"

"NO!" Malcolm repeated, stronger this time. "No scenario…"

Iona suddenly gripped his face and moved till she was practically nose-to-nose with him.

"But they'll kill you," she said harshly. "Don't you understand? You'll die! I can offer you a good life, take it! Take it!"

"No," said Malcolm nearly spitting in her face in his anger. "I said no!"

She pushed away from him furiously. "You fool! You'll die! Don't you understand that? You don't want to die! You proved that when you fought the scenario! How can you just give up now? I can give you a good life! Let me help you!"

"I would rather die in reality than exist in fantasy!" Malcolm exploded before launching into a violent coughing fit.

"But I don't want you to die," she said softly, when the fit had subsided.

If what she says is true, that Enterprise is gone, that everyone is gone……………then I don't want to stay here. I don't have the energy to plan any escape, I barely have the energy to talk. If what she says is true I'd be dead before I could think of something anyway.

I could live in a scenario, I could have the life of my dreams………but it wouldn't be real. The people wouldn't be real, the situation wouldn't be real.

I don't want fantasy. I want reality.

I'd rather die a free man in reality, than die a prisoner of a deranged fantasy.

At least if I die……………I finally know where I belong.

I can't take the confusion anymore.

"Please," he said quietly. "Let me go."

Iona stared at him for a long time before nodding.

"I'll help you."

She tapped a few buttons on one of the monitors near Malcolm.

"You'll be gone soon," she promised, tears falling down her face. "I'm sorry."

Malcolm felt something flood through his system and sighed in relief. This ordeal would soon be over.

"Thank you…" he whispered.

She turned away from him as his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry Malcolm, I'm so sorry."

Iona quickly turned to one of the monitors and pressed a few buttons.

000 Please review! 000