* Isidora arrives just as combat begins, along with Valere and other members of the Vanguard, helping to even the score. Valere launches himself up to the airship to do battle with Matthias.

* During the battle, Gladion realizes that parts of Mesoza's story and behavior sound familiar. It matches up with a "Professor Sada" who disappeared from his world doing similar research to his father. As Mesoza's memories begin to return, she realizes that she's not Gladion's Professor Sada, or technically Professor Sada at all—she is an AI that the real Sada (from a different world) created as a duplicate of herself. She struggles to resolve the conflicting memories and desires she has along with newfound emotions, and eventually stops fighting.

* Matthias activates his Battle Bond and becomes a gallade-greninja, claiming he's still devoted to Valere and their cause while Valere has lost his conviction.

* The unknown object in the crate is a strange, robotic volcarona—an Iron Moth (or "Iron Radiance", as Sada calls it). Betel confirms that it was designed to house an energy signature, and could possibly house an intelligence, but it is currently still a non-sapient machine.

* The Coven researchers receive communications demanding that they recover the Living Sun's aura signature at any cost. Gladion realizes that the voice on the radio sounds eerily like his own, but is unable to stop "Gladius" from commanding the airship to open fire on the Wayfarers.

* Steven, Brisa and the Sunward Captains arrive just in time—Steven evolves into a metagross and stops the airship's rounds in midair, while Brisa helps Valere and the Wayfarers knock out Matthias.

(and then, at the end of the battle...)

* Just as the Covenant's fighters are defeated and the airship cannonade is stopped, the Sun's Rest dungeon collapses. The other Wayfarers and Amida—or what's left of her—appear on the realspace mesatop. Amida wants to live, but her body can no longer contain her Radiance, and without intervention she'll flood the Sunward region with enough energy to damage local reality.

* Professor Sada abandons her desire to harness the Sun's power in favor of saving Amida's life. She offers Iron Radiance as a vessel to contain Amida's consciousness. However, Amida is still shedding so much Radiance that even the vessel can't possibly contain all of it safely; they'd need to find another way to safely diffuse the rest of it. A Saint might be strong enough to handle the excess.

* As Sada uses the remaining equipment to analyze Amida's options, she works with an entity she calls "Lighthouse". This turns out to be Betelgeuse, the Wayfarers' summoner, who eventually remembers that they have worked with Sada before. This confirms that Betel was indeed created by the Commission for Directed Evolution.

* However, letting Iron Radiance contain Amida means that the CDE might be able to control her, even if Sada herself has no intention to. The Wayfarers are faced with a difficult choice: save Amida but risk exposing her to the Coven, or let her die but remain free.

* A telepathic distress call goes out to Lord Articuno, who is thankfully in the area. They agree to teleport to the mesatop and assist as needed. Sada destroys the last of the devices that would allow the Coven to directly retrieve Amida.

* The Wayfarers argue about what's best for Amida, but ultimately she decides she's willing to enter the robot. Articuno successfully siphons off the excess Radiance, and Iron Radiance comes online with Amida's consciousness safely contained within. The volcarona-turned-iron-moth adjusts to her new form, and grapples with the idea that she really has been gone for five millennia.

* Something suddenly feels terribly wrong. The Wayfarers are stunned as Betel tries to divert Gladius's attempt to summon Lorrel back at the CDE, the Lighthouse program locking onto their aura signatures...

- Phoenixsong