Elsewhere in the space station, the Rani was running through the internal passageways that housed the numerous computer wires, trying to figure out a way to return to her TARDIS and escape. She would have to abandon the Doctor here with the rest of them. At least her experiment had been successful; she could retrieve her chameleon arch and seek out other renegades to use as experimental subjects.

The Rani stopped dead as she reached the place where she had left the device; because of the Doctor dragging her away, she hadn't realized that the Piper had already taken it. She soon put two and two together, however, as she saw the Piper standing there, his arms folded and a smug expression on his face.

"Where is it?" she demanded.

"Guess."

"It's in the Doctor's TARDIS, isn't it?"

"If you can find her; she's is not where the Doctor left her," the Piper said, with a smirk. "And you're hardly in a position to go around searching for her with those Androgums on your tail. Oh dear, oh dear…"

"You just had to use his DNA to prime your transformation," the Rani hissed. "The last thing I need is two of you!"

"What you need is a way out of here—and you won't make it back to your TARDIS without someone who knows every in and out of these internal passageways," the Piper said. "You only know of this main tunnel. But there are others—including one that leads right back to where you left your TARDIS. You see, when my human self was trapped here during the Sontaran massacre, he memorized these passageways; he had to, of course—he was stuck resorting to living here just to stay alive. Fortunately, I have access to that knowledge, and used it to make it here before you; I couldn't help but notice your TARDIS while I was on my way here."

"And you will give me this information only for a price, I take it?" the Rani asked, scowling.

"Yes."

"Insolent cad!" the Rani hissed at him. "It's your fault entirely that we're in this situation!"

"My fault?" the Piper asked, incredulously. "I was not the one who lied to the Androgums' faces. I was not the one who dragged the Doctor and my human self here. And I was not the one who did this inane experiment!"

"This 'inane experiment' has elevated you to the pinnacle of biological perfection!" the Rani said. "That is price enough for you to lead me to me TARDIS!"

"It was not a perfection that I asked for, despite the fact that I do enjoy it. My price is the fob watch that holds the Doctor's essence."

"You can have him," the Rani said, bitterly, resigned to her fate. She could develop another chameleon arch, but not if the Androgums stranded her here—or worse. "But not until you lead me to my TARDIS safely."

The Piper inclined his head in a brief nod.

"This way," he said, using the sonic screwdriver on one of the panels to reveal a smaller passageway within the large one.

They were both silent as the Piper led the Rani through a series of tiny passageways. At last, he opened a panel, revealing the small, darkened room where the Rani had left her pyramid-shaped TARDIS.

"The watch?" the Piper said, blocking her exit.

The Rani handed him the fob watch; just to be sure, the Piper sniffed it to confirm that it was the genuine article. He then placed it in his sporran, stepped aside, and gave the Rani a mock bow.

"Don't think for a moment that this is over," the Rani warned him.

The Piper said nothing, instead responding with a smirk that unnerved the Time Lady at the sight of it.

"What do you know?" she demanded.

"My part of the bargain is finished," the Piper said. "I said that I would lead you to your TARDIS; I cannot guarantee anything else."

The Rani seized the Piper's wrist, using touch telepathy for an instant before the Piper attempted to seal off his thoughts. Among the things she saw was a glimpse of the Doctor and Brasher's conversation, and Brasher's brag that he had procured a key to her TARDIS. The Rani paled; a key had gone unaccounted for, but she had not suspected that Brasher had taken it even before the experiment had begun.

"You're coming with me," she declared.

"Into your TARDIS? I think not!" the Piper scoffed.

The Rani responded by throwing the Piper over her shoulder; she then quickly pulled him up and pinned an arm behind his back.

"You were ready to let them finish me, weren't you?" she hissed. "Well, then, you can be the live bait to keep them busy."

"I refuse."

"The Doctor is on board," the Rani reminded him. "That fob watch I gave you won't be of any use if I escape them and send them all out into the Time Vortex. You know how easily I can accomplish that—just take off with the doors open…"

The Piper paled now; his human memories still held that unforgettable sound of Ramon Salamander's horrified screaming as he was pulled into the Vortex.

"How do I know you won't send us all into the Vortex when I enter?" he asked, accusingly.

"You won't," the Rani said. "But you'll be with the Doctor regardless of what I do, won't you? And I know that one of you would have something to get you out of that predicament."

The Piper cursed his inability to fully conceal his consciousness; the fact did remain that he had the Stattenheim remote control in his pocket. Even if they were flung into the Vortex, the Piper could time it so that he and the Doctor would fall into the Doctor's TARDIS. Even if the Rani would escape without answering for what she had done, the Piper could at least ensure the safety of himself and the Doctor. And that was the most important thing; even if logic stated otherwise, he could not abandon the Doctor.

"Very well; the Doctor's safety is what I desire above all else. I will serve as your diversion to ensure it."

"I thought as much. You see, that was the downside of using the Doctor's DNA to prime my chameleon arch—you seemed to have been stuck with his annoying sentiment. It never did him any good, either."

The Rani ushered the Piper forward, having him enter her TARDIS first once she had unlocked the door. The Piper slowly glanced around the console room, wary of being ambushed by the Androgums.

"There is no one in the room," he said. "Either they are hiding in the depths of your TARDIS, or they haven't even reached it yet."

"Well, I'm not going to wait for them to find it," the Rani stated, immediately going to the console. "We're taking off; if they are on board, I'll take my TARDIS into the vortex and have them all stranded there—NO!"

The Piper gave a start, looking to the scanner to see a message in Gallifreyan—one from the Doctor.

Now the tables turn, Old Friend.

"He's turned my own retractor beam against my own TARDIS!" the Rani fumed, her eyes blazing.

"I do so hate to state the obvious, but you were the one who used it on our TARDIS first…"

The Rani froze.

"They'll be on board—all of them," she said. "You—lead."

"It's your TARDIS; how do you expect me to lead?" the Piper countered.

"I will tell you where to go; remember that the Doctor's safety is in your hands!" she warned him.

'We've already established that," the Piper muttered, as he headed down the corridor, into the depths of the TARDIS.

And it was only after they had made significant distance down the corridor that the lights started flickering.

"Did the Doctor tamper with the lights, as well?" the Piper wondered aloud.

"No…" the Rani said, frowning. "My TARDIS's console wouldn't control the lights here; she controls the lights here on her own." Her eyes widened, and she froze in her tracks. "She's trying to warn us!"

The Piper and the Rani now looked up as dozens of Androgums, clinging to grappling hooks that had been launched into the ceiling. The Rani now fled through a door, and half of the Androgums pursued her as the other half pursued the Piper down the corridor. The Piper was smaller than they were, but faster, and the Rani's TARDIS was actually making his escape easier by opening doors for him and closing them behind him; the Piper wasn't sure, but it seemed as though that, despite his enmity with the Rani, her TARDIS realized that the Piper was key in ridding her of Androgums, and was helping him on purpose. And the Piper had to take advantage of that.

"Take me to the Doctor," he murmured to the Rani's TARDIS, as he ran. "I have the fob watch to change him back; he won't aid the Androgums anymore if I change him back. And then we can get them out of here."

A side door opened now, revealing a darkened room. The Piper slipped inside and the door closed behind him. The Piper could hear the Androgums rushing past, but the Piper's eyes were focused on the glowing red tapetum lucidum of the Doctor's eyes at the other end of the room; as the Piper had them, too, he could see the Doctor just as well as the Doctor could see him.

"So…" the Doctor hissed. "You decided to aid the Rani, after all? Was it fear of me that drove you to it?"

"I am not aiding the Rani," the Piper said. "She threatened you if I did not cooperate; neither of us could have imagined that you went to such lengths in the time it took for us to arrive here."

"And why does my fate concern you?" the hybrid creature demanded. "You, who stole my TARDIS—and did something to my…" He trailed off, his voice cracking with emotion. "…To Jamie."

"I improved him," the Piper said, working out, in his head, just how to turn the Doctor back. A direct approach wouldn't work; the Doctor's modified strength would be too much for the Piper to handle.

"He's nowhere to be found!" the Doctor hissed.

"If you only opened your eyes to the truth, you would see exactly what happened to him!" the Piper said, now realizing that the best way would be to get the Doctor to come to him—and goading him to attack seemed like the best option.

"Whatever it was that happened to him, it was you who did it, didn't you!?" the Doctor accused.

"Yes," the Piper said. "'Jamie McCrimmon' had to give up his existence in order to ensure mine."

The Piper had expected those words to be the ones that made the Doctor snap, and, sure enough, with a furious snarl, the Doctor charged at him.

The Piper took out the fob watch containing the Doctor's essence, and, as the Doctor seized him in his strong grip, the Piper held the watch up in front of the Doctor's face and opened it.

The Doctor froze as his essence returned to him; the warts on his face vanished as his normal features and voice returned.

"I… oh…" he said, releasing the Piper and taking the watch. "I… I'm myself again, aren't I?" He paused, feeling his face for a moment, and then glared back at the Piper. "That doesn't excuse you and what you've done!"

"Doctor…" the Piper said, exasperated. Wordlessly, he took out the second watch from his sporran. The Doctor's eyes widened.

"That's the watch I gave Jamie…" he said. "And you've got it—and you're wearing his clothes!" He sniffed at the closed watch as the Piper held it out to him, and the realization struck him. "Jamie!? Jamie, it is you! Oh, do forgive me; I've always had a bit of trouble with your face…"

"Yes, I know," the Piper said, darkly. "And that name of Jamie doesn't apply to me. I am-"

"The Piper, yes, I'm so sorry," the Doctor said. "You do look wonderful—truly wonderful! And that's a fine choice for a name, of course, and I'm so glad to see that you worked out my plan—or part of it. You were supposed to warn Gallifrey after you changed! …Not that I'm not grateful for your turning me back… Ah, let's forget it; I say we leave this TARDIS, go back to our own, and once you've changed back to your human self, we can have a nice holiday at the Eye of Orion!"

"Change back?" the Piper repeated, incredulously.

The Doctor, who had been heading for the door of the room, now stopped dead in his tracks.

"Well, of course!" he said, a growing unease filling his hearts as he took note of the Piper's tone. "That was the plan; stop the Androgums, and then, once we were safe, have you change back to your human self!"

"That may have been your plan, Doctor, but it doesn't fit into the ideas that I have in mind," the Piper said. "I'm not changing back."