A planning note reveals that Louis has studied the castle map and identified a network of small tunnels as Ferdinand's secret passageways rather than ducts. The group realizes the tunnels could provide access to the third-floor security room, which would help their escape plan, though Carl and Imani worry that Samantha is too unreliable for such a critical task. Samantha then proves she has found and read their notes, loudly volunteering herself anyway.

In the ballroom, Ferdinand appears on Carl's shoulder wearing an absurd magical turban, and the crawlers mock him while Katia uses a Size-Up potion to confirm his abilities and vulnerabilities. Carl pushes Donut to use her boosted charisma to charm Ferdinand, reminding her that Ferdinand had tried to kill Mongo. Donut overcomes her hesitation, and the charm begins to work: Ferdinand becomes less formal, admits Queen Imogen wants him to watch her sister, and stays focused on Donut instead of attacking.

While Donut keeps Ferdinand occupied, the larger operation starts to unravel. Alarms sound elsewhere in the castle, Gideon reports mounted elves rushing out, and Samantha slips into the tunnel system but immediately needs live directions because she failed to memorize the route. Outside, mantises, elves, and changelings collide in open battle around the Twister. Sledge reports from the airship that the fighting is chaotic, the turrets are deadly, and the Twister is overrun, forcing him to abandon any hope of holding it safely.

Inside the ballroom, Carl juggles crises on multiple fronts. Ferdinand almost leaves the queen's ballroom to follow Donut physically, but he reaches Carl's room instead, where Carl stalls him. Theobald begins the talent portion of the masquerade, and Donut learns she will perform last. At the same time, hunters gather near Lucia Mar and Chaco's counter, apparently hoping to provoke Lucia into breaking the seal, while Carl warns his allies to stay ready and starts thinking ahead to desperate escape measures once the room's protections are disabled.

Carl then learns Samantha has reached the security room tunnel, but she has ruined the stealth plan by leaving behind the sleeping potion ball that was supposed to disable the guards quietly. Before Carl can stop her, Samantha attacks anyway and announces that the guards are already dead. At that exact moment Queen Imogen appears in the ballroom, and a system warning announces that the room is now sealed, trapping everyone inside until the party concludes and sharply escalating the danger.