Holo-Doctor decides: "20 cc's nitric acid." Paris shrieks in pain as the Doctor applies the acid. Holo-Doctor comments: "A little proverbial salt in the wound."

Tuvok tries to intervene but Holo-Doctor punches him. Tuvok goes flying backward over the adjacent biobed.

Holo-Doctor grips Tuvok by the throat and comments: "You're looking well."

Paris aims a punch direct to Holo-Doctor's head, but his fist passes right through the hologram. Paris ends up on the floor. Tuvok to Paris: "Go!" Paris: "I'm not going to leave you!"

Holo-Doctor grasps hold of Tuvok and Paris and throws them out of Sickbay, saying: "It was a pleasure treating you. Don't hesitate to call again."

Outside in the corridor, Tuvok enquires, while holding his throat which Holo-Doctor hurt: "Are you alright, Mr Paris?" Paris tries to make a joke of it: "Oh, just great. Maybe we can go to the Messhall now and let the holographic Neelix burn my arm with a frying pan." Tuvok: "Your feeble attempt at wit notwithstanding, it does appear that Seska has reprogrammed the holographic crew to torture us. I suggest we avoid meeting any more of them." A com. alert sounds. "Seska to Tuvok. I know you can hear me." Paris: "Oh, terrific. Holo-Seska, via comms: "I just wanted to remind you that wherever you go: I'll find you." Contact ends. Paris: "I say we try the Jefferies tubes." Tuvok: "I concur."

On the (real) bridge, Kim reports: "Captain, you're not going to believe this, but Seska caused these cascade failures." Janeway: "Seska?! How?" Torres: "What she lacked in loyalty she made up for in ingenuity. According to the backup computer logs she got into Tuvok's scenario on stardate 48671, about a month before she left the ship. She programmed it to cause all of these shutdowns the next time Tuvok re-opened the narrative parameters file, which he didn't do until today." Janeway: "Can we get them out?" Torres: "Seska laid booby-trapped subroutines everywhere. If we try to open the Holodeck doors, the hologrid is rigged to explode." Kim: "And the transporters are still offline." Janeway: "You said the narrative parameters file is open now." Kim: "Seska's revised program is playing out as we speak." Janeway wonders: "If Seska can rewrite Tuvok, maybe I can rewrite Seska."

Paris and Tuvok are crawling through a Jefferies tube in the holosimulation. Paris: "So, Tuvok, anything in the 'Dictates of Poetics' about how to escape from a ship of insane holograms?" Tuvok: "Your attempts at humour are hardly constructive, Mr Paris."

They reach a closed hatchway. Tuvok presses the controls on the panel beside it and opens the hatch. But there is a deadly plasma fire roaring towards them!

Hastily Tuvok tries to shut the hatch. "The controls are jammed. I cannot close the hatch!"

Suddenly a plasma extinguisher materialises! Paris calls his attention to it. "Tuvok!" Paris grabs hold of the plasma extinguisher and aims it at the plasma fire, eventually dispersing it.

Paris: "Where do you suppose this came from?" He refers to the plasma extinguisher.
Tuvok: "That is an intriguing question."
Paris: "You think Seska's toying with us? Taking us to the brink of death again then letting us live so that she can keep torturing us?"
Tuvok: "I prefer a more optimistic interpretation. It is possible our shipmates outside the Holodeck have learned of our predicament, and have found a way to help us by making additions to the program, such as that plasma extinguisher."
Paris: "If you want to look on the bright side, I'm certainly not going to argue with you."

They climb down a ladder to a junction in the Jefferies tubes. Paris: "If they do know what's going on, why just hand us a plasma extinguisher? Why not shut down the hologrid, change the scenario?" Tuvok: "I would imagine Seska has made it very difficult for anyone to implement more than minor changes."

Paris: "Take a look at this." They look at a monitor display which gives them a hopeful message. Paris: "You were right." Tuvok: "We must follow their instructions."

They open the door, but Holo-Chakotay, backed up by Holo-Carlson, is waiting for them! Holo-Chakotay: "Hello, boys. What do you say we go for a little walk?"

Janeway can see the holoprogram as it plays out. She sees Paris and Tuvok taken prisoner by Holo-Chakotay. "Where did they come from?"

Torres: "Seska's program has added new algorithms to counteract the changes we're making." Janeway: "I need more access to the narrative subroutines."

Torres works the controls then reports: "I can't get in." Janeway: "You'd better find a way, otherwise Tom and Tuvok aren't going to make it out of there alive." Janeway: "It looks like Chakotay's taking them to the holographic cargo bay." Via comms: "Torres to Kim. How are you coming with those transporters?" Kim, via comms: "Seska's program has completely disabled the relay access ports. It'll take a while to get Tom and Tuvok out of there." Janeway: "I guess that means I keep writing."

In the holographic cargo bay, Holo-Chakotay is addressing the holo-prisoners. "As you can see, the last of your comrades have been captured. In case anybody had any doubts, it should be obvious by now that this is no longer a Starfleet vessel."

Holo-Seska enters.

Holo-Seska gives orders to the mutineers. "Bring Paris and Tuvok over here. You and you, bring your weapons." Two mutineers obey her. Holo-Chakotay to Holo-Seska: "What are you doing?!" Holo-Seska: "What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to execute them." Two crewmembers, one of the O'Donnell, stand in front of Paris and Tuvok, weapons raised, ready to shoot them.

Watching the events, Janeway tells Torres: "I need access to the character algorithms NOW." Torres: "I'm on it."