As the Oracles expose Octavia’s lie, Fitchner severs a stinger and the Sovereign tears the creature away, ending the truth game. Darrow calls out the deceit, and Mustang erupts, accusing Octavia of breaking the no-lies condition that secured her cooperation. The Sovereign forces Mustang to sit, noting her shaken state as Mustang fidgets with a gold ring.

Octavia pivots, probing why House Augustus must be removed. Mustang coolly recites her father’s defiance of orders and market manipulation. Octavia argues that prying him from Mars would ignite rebellion and drain the empire, reminding them that her power rests on fear and fresh examples, as when she destroyed Rhea to end Saturn’s revolt.

To heighten stakes, Octavia projects holos of riots and killings—on Venus, not Mars—and reveals coordinated bombings across the Society. She declares Order Zero in effect, with quarantines and blackout of news, and blames Augustus for letting the Sons of Ares spread to the Core. Darrow, having warned Harmony, privately hopes the cells survive.

Octavia then demands Augustus’s death and a transfer of Mars to Bellona, promising peace at the cost of fifty lives. Darrow realizes Mustang joined Octavia for a reason that now pains him. After recalling the father she once loved, Mustang concedes that man is gone and says, “Do with the new one as you like,” effectively permitting Octavia’s plan.