Odo comes face to face with the Founders.
On the planet, a female shapeshifter begins teaching Odo about the Great Link, but the Changelings distrust Kira. Meanwhile Sisko and Bashir are picked up, and back on the station they watch the Federation agree a peace treaty with the Dominion that hands over the Bajoran sector. When the Jem'Hadar kill the Romulan officer, Sisko and his crew try to collapse the wormhole.
Odo opens a locked door Kira found, and they discover the crew in a room with devices attached to their heads: the Vorta Borath has been running a simulation to see how far the Federation would go to avoid war. The Founders admit they are the leaders of the Dominion, and Odo chooses to leave with his friends, who are released.