diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts
index 54cfaf11dcb6..fd61accf4a76 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.test.ts
@@ -937,6 +937,70 @@ describe("gateway startup reconciliation", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it("reconciles disabled->enabled config changes without waiting for another agent turn", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    clearInternalHooks();
+    const logger = createLogger();
+    const harness = createCronHarness();
+    const onMock = vi.fn();
+    const api: DreamingPluginApiTestDouble = {
+      config: {
+        plugins: {
+          entries: {
+            "memory-core": {
+              config: {
+                dreaming: {
+                  enabled: false,
+                  frequency: "0 2 * * *",
+                  timezone: "UTC",
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      pluginConfig: {},
+      logger,
+      runtime: {},
+      on: onMock,
+    };
+
+    try {
+      registerShortTermPromotionDreamingForTest(api);
+      await triggerGatewayStart(onMock, {
+        config: api.config,
+        getCron: () => harness.cron,
+      });
+
+      expect(harness.addCalls).toHaveLength(0);
+
+      api.config = {
+        plugins: {
+          entries: {
+            "memory-core": {
+              config: {
+                dreaming: {
+                  enabled: true,
+                  frequency: "30 6 * * *",
+                  timezone: "America/New_York",
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      } as OpenClawConfig;
+
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(constants.RUNTIME_CRON_RECONCILE_INTERVAL_MS);
+
+      expect(harness.addCalls).toHaveLength(1);
+      expectCronSchedule(requireAddCall(harness, 0).schedule, "30 6 * * *", "America/New_York");
+    } finally {
+      await triggerGatewayStop(onMock).catch(() => undefined);
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+      clearInternalHooks();
+    }
+  });
+
   it("reconciles cadence/timezone updates against the active cron service after startup", async () => {
     clearInternalHooks();
     const logger = createLogger();
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts
index a6eb6114e599..3a3ddee6e7df 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming.ts
@@ -695,6 +695,7 @@ export function registerShortTermPromotionDreaming(api: OpenClawPluginApi): void
   let lastRuntimeConfigKey: string | null = null;
   let lastRuntimeCronRef: CronServiceLike | null = null;
   let startupCronRetryTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
+  let runtimeCronReconcileTimer: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
   let startupCronRetryAttempts = 0;
   let disposed = false;
 
@@ -723,6 +724,10 @@ export function registerShortTermPromotionDreaming(api: OpenClawPluginApi): void
   const disposeStartupCronRetry = (): void => {
     disposed = true;
     clearStartupCronRetry();
+    if (runtimeCronReconcileTimer) {
+      clearInterval(runtimeCronReconcileTimer);
+      runtimeCronReconcileTimer = null;
+    }
     gatewayContext = null;
     resolveStartupCron = null;
   };
@@ -856,6 +861,18 @@ export function registerShortTermPromotionDreaming(api: OpenClawPluginApi): void
     }, STARTUP_CRON_RETRY_DELAY_MS);
   };
 
+  const startRuntimeCronReconcileTimer = (): void => {
+    if (runtimeCronReconcileTimer) {
+      return;
+    }
+    runtimeCronReconcileTimer = setInterval(() => {
+      void reconcileManagedDreamingCron({ reason: "runtime" }).catch((err) => {
+        api.logger.error(`memory-core: dreaming cron reconcile failed: ${formatErrorMessage(err)}`);
+      });
+    }, RUNTIME_CRON_RECONCILE_INTERVAL_MS);
+    runtimeCronReconcileTimer.unref?.();
+  };
+
   api.on("gateway_start", async (_event, ctx) => {
     disposed = false;
     // Store the gateway context for runtime cron resolution retries.
@@ -866,6 +883,7 @@ export function registerShortTermPromotionDreaming(api: OpenClawPluginApi): void
         startupConfig: ctx.config,
         startupCron: () => resolveCronServiceFromGatewayContext(ctx),
       });
+      startRuntimeCronReconcileTimer();
       scheduleStartupCronRetry();
     } catch (err) {
       api.logger.error(
@@ -933,6 +951,7 @@ export const testing = {
     DEFAULT_DREAMING_MIN_RECALL_COUNT: DEFAULT_MEMORY_DREAMING_MIN_RECALL_COUNT,
     DEFAULT_DREAMING_MIN_UNIQUE_QUERIES: DEFAULT_MEMORY_DREAMING_MIN_UNIQUE_QUERIES,
     DEFAULT_DREAMING_RECENCY_HALF_LIFE_DAYS: DEFAULT_MEMORY_DREAMING_RECENCY_HALF_LIFE_DAYS,
+    RUNTIME_CRON_RECONCILE_INTERVAL_MS,
     STARTUP_CRON_RETRY_DELAY_MS,
     STARTUP_CRON_RETRY_MAX_ATTEMPTS,
   },
diff --git a/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.test.ts b/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.test.ts
index 911ff86c830c..de08b44818fb 100644
--- a/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.test.ts
@@ -3034,6 +3034,101 @@ describe("qa mock openai server", () => {
     expect(requireRecord(await debug.json(), "debug request").imageInputCount).toBe(1);
   });
 
+  it("answers image prompts when media context is the latest text part", async () => {
+    const server = await startQaMockOpenAiServer({
+      host: "127.0.0.1",
+      port: 0,
+    });
+    cleanups.push(async () => {
+      await server.stop();
+    });
+
+    const response = await fetch(`${server.baseUrl}/v1/responses`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+      body: JSON.stringify({
+        stream: false,
+        model: "mock-openai/gpt-5.5",
+        input: [
+          {
+            role: "user",
+            content: [
+              { type: "input_text", text: "Image understanding check: what do you see?" },
+              {
+                type: "input_image",
+                source: {
+                  type: "base64",
+                  mime_type: "image/png",
+                  data: QA_IMAGE_PNG_BASE64,
+                },
+              },
+              {
+                type: "input_text",
+                text: "[media attached: media://inbound/red-top-blue-bottom.png (image/png)]",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    });
+    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+    const payload = (await response.json()) as {
+      output?: Array<{ content?: Array<{ text?: string }> }>;
+    };
+    const text = payload.output?.[0]?.content?.[0]?.text ?? "";
+    expect(text.toLowerCase()).toContain("red");
+    expect(text.toLowerCase()).toContain("blue");
+  });
+
+  it("lets image prompts beat stale exact marker directives from chat history", async () => {
+    const server = await startMockServer();
+
+    const response = await fetch(`${server.baseUrl}/v1/responses`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
+      body: JSON.stringify({
+        stream: false,
+        model: "mock-openai/gpt-5.5",
+        input: [
+          makeUserInput("Control UI bridge check. Marker exact marker: `ui bridge armed`"),
+          {
+            role: "assistant",
+            content: [{ type: "output_text", text: "ui bridge armed" }],
+          },
+          {
+            role: "user",
+            content: [
+              {
+                type: "input_text",
+                text: "Image understanding check: describe the top and bottom colors.",
+              },
+              {
+                type: "input_image",
+                source: {
+                  type: "base64",
+                  mime_type: "image/png",
+                  data: QA_IMAGE_PNG_BASE64,
+                },
+              },
+              {
+                type: "input_text",
+                text: "[media attached: media://inbound/red-top-blue-bottom.png (image/png)]",
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    });
+    expect(response.status).toBe(200);
+    const payload = (await response.json()) as {
+      output?: Array<{ content?: Array<{ text?: string }> }>;
+    };
+    const text = payload.output?.[0]?.content?.[0]?.text ?? "";
+    expect(text.toLowerCase()).toContain("red");
+    expect(text.toLowerCase()).toContain("blue");
+    expect(text).not.toBe("ui bridge armed");
+  });
+
   it("handles deeply nested image input shapes without recursive traversal failure", async () => {
     const server = await startQaMockOpenAiServer({
       host: "127.0.0.1",
diff --git a/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.ts b/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.ts
index b1d753ce363e..13625ca9d9ea 100644
--- a/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.ts
+++ b/extensions/qa-lab/src/providers/mock-openai/server.ts
@@ -1036,6 +1036,12 @@ function buildAssistantText(
   if (isHeartbeatPrompt(prompt)) {
     return "HEARTBEAT_OK";
   }
+  if (/roundtrip image inspection check/i.test(allInputText) && imageInputCount > 0) {
+    return "Protocol note: the generated attachment shows the same QA lighthouse scene from the previous step.";
+  }
+  if (/image understanding check/i.test(allInputText) && imageInputCount > 0) {
+    return "Protocol note: the attached image is split horizontally, with red on top and blue on the bottom.";
+  }
   if (/\bmarker\b/i.test(allInputText) && exactReplyDirective) {
     return exactReplyDirective;
   }
@@ -1118,12 +1124,6 @@ function buildAssistantText(
       "- Re-open the copied file for final verification.",
     ].join("\n");
   }
-  if (/roundtrip image inspection check/i.test(prompt) && imageInputCount > 0) {
-    return "Protocol note: the generated attachment shows the same QA lighthouse scene from the previous step.";
-  }
-  if (/image understanding check/i.test(prompt) && imageInputCount > 0) {
-    return "Protocol note: the attached image is split horizontally, with red on top and blue on the bottom.";
-  }
   if (
     /interrupted by a gateway reload/i.test(prompt) &&
     /subagent recovery worker/i.test(allInputText)
@@ -1565,6 +1565,7 @@ async function buildResponsesPayload(
     extractExactReplyDirective(prompt) ?? extractExactReplyDirective(allInputText);
   const exactMarkerDirective =
     extractExactMarkerDirective(prompt) ?? extractExactMarkerDirective(allInputText);
+  const imageInputCount = countImageInputs(input);
   const firstExactMarkerDirective = extractLabeledMarkerDirective(
     allInputText,
     "first exact marker",
@@ -1651,6 +1652,16 @@ async function buildResponsesPayload(
   if (/fanout worker beta/i.test(prompt)) {
     return buildAssistantEvents("BETA-OK");
   }
+  if (/roundtrip image inspection check/i.test(allInputText) && imageInputCount > 0) {
+    return buildAssistantEvents(
+      "Protocol note: the generated attachment shows the same QA lighthouse scene from the previous step.",
+    );
+  }
+  if (/image understanding check/i.test(allInputText) && imageInputCount > 0) {
+    return buildAssistantEvents(
+      "Protocol note: the attached image is split horizontally, with red on top and blue on the bottom.",
+    );
+  }
   if (QA_REASONING_ONLY_RECOVERY_PROMPT_RE.test(allInputText)) {
     if (!scenarioToolOutput) {
       return buildToolCallEventsWithArgs("read", { path: "QA_KICKOFF_TASK.md" });
diff --git a/qa/scenarios/agents/subagent-completion-direct-fallback.md b/qa/scenarios/agents/subagent-completion-direct-fallback.md
index 4b62d365a184..5c30bded1d9a 100644
--- a/qa/scenarios/agents/subagent-completion-direct-fallback.md
+++ b/qa/scenarios/agents/subagent-completion-direct-fallback.md
@@ -50,26 +50,38 @@ steps:
       - set: sessionKey
         value:
           expr: "`agent:qa:subagent-direct-fallback:${randomUUID().slice(0, 8)}`"
-      - call: runAgentPrompt
-        args:
-          - ref: env
-          - sessionKey:
-              ref: sessionKey
-            message:
-              expr: config.prompt
-            timeoutMs:
-              expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 90000)
-      - call: waitForCondition
-        saveAs: outbound
-        args:
-          - lambda:
-              expr: "state.getSnapshot().messages.filter((message) => message.direction === 'outbound' && String(message.text ?? '').includes(config.expectedMarker)).at(-1)"
-          - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 60000)
-          - expr: "env.providerMode === 'mock-openai' ? 100 : 250"
-      - assert:
-          expr: "String(outbound.text ?? '').trim().includes(config.expectedMarker)"
-          message:
-            expr: "`fallback completion marker missing from outbound QA DM: ${recentOutboundSummary(state)}`"
+      - try:
+          actions:
+            - call: runAgentPrompt
+              args:
+                - ref: env
+                - sessionKey:
+                    ref: sessionKey
+                  message:
+                    expr: config.prompt
+                  timeoutMs:
+                    expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 90000)
+            - call: waitForCondition
+              saveAs: outbound
+              args:
+                - lambda:
+                    expr: "state.getSnapshot().messages.filter((message) => message.direction === 'outbound' && String(message.text ?? '').includes(config.expectedMarker)).at(-1)"
+                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 180000)
+                - expr: "env.providerMode === 'mock-openai' ? 100 : 250"
+            - assert:
+                expr: "String(outbound.text ?? '').trim().includes(config.expectedMarker)"
+                message:
+                  expr: "`fallback completion marker missing from outbound QA DM: ${recentOutboundSummary(state)}`"
+          catchAs: fallbackError
+          catch:
+            - set: fallbackDebugRequests
+              value:
+                expr: "env.mock ? [...(await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`))].slice(-20).map((request) => ({ plannedToolName: request.plannedToolName ?? null, plannedToolArgs: request.plannedToolArgs ?? null, prompt: String(request.prompt ?? '').slice(0, 280), allInputText: String(request.allInputText ?? '').slice(0, 280), toolOutput: request.toolOutput ? String(request.toolOutput).slice(0, 280) : null })) : []"
+            - set: fallbackTasks
+              value:
+                expr: "(await runQaCli(env, ['tasks', 'list', '--json', '--runtime', 'subagent'], { timeoutMs: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 60000), json: true }).catch((error) => ({ error: String(error?.message ?? error) })))"
+            - throw:
+                expr: "`subagent fallback marker missing: ${fallbackError?.message ?? fallbackError}; outbound=${recentOutboundSummary(state, 8)} tasks=${JSON.stringify(fallbackTasks)} requests=${JSON.stringify(fallbackDebugRequests)}`"
       - if:
           expr: "Boolean(env.mock)"
           then:
@@ -89,7 +101,7 @@ steps:
               args:
                 - lambda:
                     expr: "(async () => { const payload = await runQaCli(env, ['tasks', 'list', '--json', '--runtime', 'subagent'], { timeoutMs: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 60000), json: true }); return (payload.tasks ?? []).find((task) => task.label === config.expectedLabel && task.deliveryStatus === 'delivered' && task.status === 'succeeded') ?? null; })()"
-                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 30000)
+                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 60000)
                 - 250
             - assert:
                 expr: "deliveredTask.deliveryStatus === 'delivered'"
diff --git a/qa/scenarios/media/image-generation-roundtrip.md b/qa/scenarios/media/image-generation-roundtrip.md
index a3ba5ba6a04f..238591da122f 100644
--- a/qa/scenarios/media/image-generation-roundtrip.md
+++ b/qa/scenarios/media/image-generation-roundtrip.md
@@ -94,7 +94,8 @@ steps:
           expr: "!env.mock || Boolean((await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`)).find((request) => request.plannedToolName === 'image_generate' && String(request.prompt ?? '').includes(config.generatePromptSnippet)))"
           message: expected image_generate call before roundtrip inspection
       - assert:
-          expr: "!env.mock || (((await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`)).find((request) => String(request.prompt ?? '').includes(config.inspectPrompt))?.imageInputCount ?? 0) >= 1)"
-          message: expected generated artifact to be reattached on follow-up turn
+          expr: "!env.mock || (await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`)).some((request) => String(request.prompt ?? '').includes(config.inspectPrompt) && (request.imageInputCount ?? 0) >= 1)"
+          message:
+            expr: "`expected generated artifact to be reattached on follow-up turn; recentRequests=${JSON.stringify((await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`)).slice(-12).map((request) => ({ prompt: String(request.prompt ?? '').slice(0, 240), imageInputCount: request.imageInputCount, allInputText: String(request.allInputText ?? '').slice(0, 240) })))}`"
     detailsExpr: "`MEDIA:${mediaPath}\\n${outbound.text}`"
 ```
diff --git a/qa/scenarios/memory/memory-dreaming-sweep.md b/qa/scenarios/memory/memory-dreaming-sweep.md
index c6bb27addc90..8aa282299494 100644
--- a/qa/scenarios/memory/memory-dreaming-sweep.md
+++ b/qa/scenarios/memory/memory-dreaming-sweep.md
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ steps:
                 - lambda:
                     async: true
                     expr: "(() => readDoctorMemoryStatus(env).then((payload) => payload.dreaming?.phases?.deep?.managedCronPresent === true ? payload : undefined))()"
-                - 30000
+                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 90000)
                 - 500
             - call: listCronJobs
               saveAs: jobs
@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@ steps:
                 expr: "managed.id"
           catchAs: enableError
           catch:
+            - set: enableFailureStatus
+              value:
+                expr: "(await readDoctorMemoryStatus(env).catch((error) => ({ error: String(error?.message ?? error) })))"
+            - set: enableFailureJobs
+              value:
+                expr: "(await listCronJobs(env).catch((error) => [{ error: String(error?.message ?? error) }]))"
             - call: patchConfig
               args:
                 - env:
@@ -127,7 +133,7 @@ steps:
                 - ref: env
                 - 60000
             - throw:
-                expr: enableError
+                expr: "`managed dreaming cron missing: ${enableError?.message ?? enableError}; status=${JSON.stringify(enableFailureStatus)} jobs=${JSON.stringify(enableFailureJobs)}`"
     detailsExpr: "JSON.stringify({ enabled: status.dreaming?.enabled ?? false, managedCronPresent: status.dreaming?.phases?.deep?.managedCronPresent ?? false, nextRunAtMs: status.dreaming?.phases?.deep?.nextRunAtMs ?? null })"
 
   - name: runs the sweep after repeated recall signals and writes promotion artifacts
diff --git a/qa/scenarios/ui/control-ui-qa-channel-image-roundtrip.md b/qa/scenarios/ui/control-ui-qa-channel-image-roundtrip.md
index a18d6ae3ff88..17b735752d9f 100644
--- a/qa/scenarios/ui/control-ui-qa-channel-image-roundtrip.md
+++ b/qa/scenarios/ui/control-ui-qa-channel-image-roundtrip.md
@@ -227,16 +227,25 @@ steps:
                 altText: red on top blue on bottom
                 contentBase64:
                   expr: imageUnderstandingValidPngBase64
-      - call: waitForOutboundMessage
-        saveAs: imageOutbound
-        args:
-          - ref: state
-          - lambda:
-              params: [candidate]
-              expr: "candidate.conversation.id === config.conversationId && config.requiredColorGroups.every((group) => group.some((color) => normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty(candidate.text).includes(color)))"
-          - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 45000)
-          - sinceIndex:
-              ref: secondOutboundStartIndex
+      - try:
+          actions:
+            - call: waitForOutboundMessage
+              saveAs: imageOutbound
+              args:
+                - ref: state
+                - lambda:
+                    params: [candidate]
+                    expr: "candidate.conversation.id === config.conversationId && config.requiredColorGroups.every((group) => group.some((color) => normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty(candidate.text).includes(color)))"
+                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 90000)
+                - sinceIndex:
+                    ref: secondOutboundStartIndex
+          catchAs: imageWaitError
+          catch:
+            - set: imageDebugRequests
+              value:
+                expr: "env.mock ? [...(await fetchJson(`${env.mock.baseUrl}/debug/requests`))].slice(-16).map((request) => ({ plannedToolName: request.plannedToolName ?? null, prompt: String(request.prompt ?? '').slice(0, 260), allInputText: String(request.allInputText ?? '').slice(0, 260), imageInputCount: request.imageInputCount ?? null })) : []"
+            - throw:
+                expr: "`qa-channel image reply missing: ${imageWaitError?.message ?? imageWaitError}; outbound=${recentOutboundSummary(state, 8)} requests=${JSON.stringify(imageDebugRequests)}`"
       - set: missingColorGroup
         value:
           expr: "config.requiredColorGroups.find((group) => !group.some((color) => normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty(imageOutbound.text).includes(color)))"
@@ -272,7 +281,7 @@ steps:
                 - lambda:
                     async: true
                     expr: "await (async () => { const snapshot = await webSnapshot({ pageId: uiImagePageId, maxChars: 12000, timeoutMs: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 30000) }); const text = normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty(snapshot.text); const hasPrompt = text.includes(config.imagePromptNeedle); const hasColors = config.requiredColorGroups.every((group) => group.some((color) => text.includes(color))); return hasPrompt && hasColors ? snapshot : undefined; })()"
-                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 45000)
+                - expr: liveTurnTimeoutMs(env, 90000)
                 - 500
           catch:
             - call: webSnapshot
diff --git a/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.test.ts b/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.test.ts
index aae0947e90cd..ce4f025f34d4 100644
--- a/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.test.ts
@@ -937,6 +937,90 @@ describe("deliverSubagentAnnouncement completion delivery", () => {
     expect(queueEmbeddedPiMessageWithOutcome).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("directly delivers direct-message subagent text when the announce agent returns no visible output", async () => {
+    const callGateway = createGatewayMock({
+      result: {
+        payloads: [],
+      },
+    });
+    const sendMessage = createSendMessageMock();
+
+    const result = await deliverDiscordDirectMessageCompletion({
+      callGateway,
+      sendMessage,
+      internalEvents: [
+        {
+          type: "task_completion",
+          source: "subagent",
+          childSessionKey: "agent:worker:subagent:child",
+          childSessionId: "child-session-id",
+          announceType: "subagent task",
+          taskLabel: "direct completion smoke",
+          status: "ok",
+          statusLabel: "completed successfully",
+          result: "child completion output",
+          replyInstruction: "Summarize the result.",
+        },
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expectRecordFields(result, {
+      delivered: true,
+      path: "direct",
+    });
+    expect(sendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        channel: "discord",
+        accountId: "acct-1",
+        to: "dm:U123",
+        content: "child completion output",
+        idempotencyKey: "announce-dm-fallback-empty:text-direct",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("directly delivers direct-message subagent text when the announce agent returns incomplete", async () => {
+    const callGateway = vi.fn(async () => {
+      throw new Error(
+        "FailoverError: mock-openai/gpt-5.5 ended with an incomplete terminal response: code=incomplete_result",
+      );
+    }) as unknown as typeof runtimeCallGateway;
+    const sendMessage = createSendMessageMock();
+
+    const result = await deliverDiscordDirectMessageCompletion({
+      callGateway,
+      sendMessage,
+      internalEvents: [
+        {
+          type: "task_completion",
+          source: "subagent",
+          childSessionKey: "agent:worker:subagent:child",
+          childSessionId: "child-session-id",
+          announceType: "subagent task",
+          taskLabel: "direct completion smoke",
+          status: "ok",
+          statusLabel: "completed successfully",
+          result: "child completion output",
+          replyInstruction: "Summarize the result.",
+        },
+      ],
+    });
+
+    expectRecordFields(result, {
+      delivered: true,
+      path: "direct",
+    });
+    expect(sendMessage).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        channel: "discord",
+        accountId: "acct-1",
+        to: "dm:U123",
+        content: "child completion output",
+        idempotencyKey: "announce-dm-fallback-empty:text-direct",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("uses in-process agent dispatch for dormant completion requesters", async () => {
     const callGateway = createGatewayMock();
     const dispatchGatewayMethodInProcess = createInProcessGatewayMock({
diff --git a/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.ts b/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.ts
index a229660a01ab..1fb47f5a5a07 100644
--- a/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.ts
+++ b/src/agents/subagent-announce-delivery.ts
@@ -282,6 +282,11 @@ function isPermanentAnnounceDeliveryError(error: unknown): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+function isIncompleteAnnounceAgentResultError(error: unknown): boolean {
+  const message = summarizeDeliveryError(error);
+  return /(?:incomplete terminal response|code=incomplete_result)\b/i.test(message);
+}
+
 async function waitForAnnounceRetryDelay(ms: number, signal?: AbortSignal): Promise<void> {
   if (ms <= 0) {
     return;
@@ -709,6 +714,89 @@ async function deliverGeneratedMediaCompletionDirect(params: {
   }
 }
 
+function isDirectMessageDeliveryTarget(target: { to?: string; threadId?: string }): boolean {
+  if (target.threadId) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  const normalizedTo = normalizeOptionalLowercaseString(target.to);
+  return Boolean(
+    normalizedTo &&
+    (normalizedTo.startsWith("dm:") ||
+      normalizedTo.startsWith("direct:") ||
+      normalizedTo.includes(":dm:") ||
+      normalizedTo.includes(":direct:")),
+  );
+}
+
+function resolveTextCompletionDirectFallback(events: readonly AgentInternalEvent[] | undefined) {
+  for (let index = (events?.length ?? 0) - 1; index >= 0; index -= 1) {
+    const event = events?.[index];
+    if (event?.type !== "task_completion" || event.source !== "subagent") {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const result = typeof event.result === "string" ? event.result.trim() : "";
+    if (result) {
+      return result;
+    }
+  }
+  return undefined;
+}
+
+async function deliverTextCompletionDirect(params: {
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  requesterSessionKey: string;
+  directIdempotencyKey: string;
+  deliveryTarget: {
+    deliver: boolean;
+    channel?: string;
+    to?: string;
+    accountId?: string;
+    threadId?: string;
+  };
+  internalEvents?: readonly AgentInternalEvent[];
+}): Promise<SubagentAnnounceDeliveryResult | undefined> {
+  const content = resolveTextCompletionDirectFallback(params.internalEvents);
+  if (
+    !content ||
+    !params.deliveryTarget.deliver ||
+    !params.deliveryTarget.channel ||
+    !params.deliveryTarget.to ||
+    !isDirectMessageDeliveryTarget(params.deliveryTarget)
+  ) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(params.requesterSessionKey);
+  const idempotencyKey = `${params.directIdempotencyKey}:text-direct`;
+  try {
+    await subagentAnnounceDeliveryDeps.sendMessage({
+      cfg: params.cfg,
+      channel: params.deliveryTarget.channel,
+      to: params.deliveryTarget.to,
+      accountId: params.deliveryTarget.accountId,
+      threadId: params.deliveryTarget.threadId,
+      requesterSessionKey: params.requesterSessionKey,
+      agentId,
+      content,
+      idempotencyKey,
+      mirror: {
+        sessionKey: params.requesterSessionKey,
+        agentId,
+        idempotencyKey,
+      },
+    });
+    return {
+      delivered: true,
+      path: "direct",
+    };
+  } catch (err) {
+    return {
+      delivered: false,
+      path: "direct",
+      error: `text completion direct delivery failed: ${summarizeDeliveryError(err)}`,
+    };
+  }
+}
+
 function resolveGeneratedMediaDirectFallbackUrls(params: {
   expectedMediaUrls: readonly string[];
   announceResponse?: unknown;
@@ -979,6 +1067,23 @@ async function sendSubagentAnnounceDirectly(params: {
       if (isPermanentAnnounceDeliveryError(err)) {
         throw err;
       }
+      if (
+        params.expectsCompletionMessage &&
+        shouldDeliverAgentFinal &&
+        isSubagentCompletion &&
+        isIncompleteAnnounceAgentResultError(err)
+      ) {
+        const textDelivery = await deliverTextCompletionDirect({
+          cfg,
+          requesterSessionKey: canonicalRequesterSessionKey,
+          directIdempotencyKey: params.directIdempotencyKey,
+          deliveryTarget,
+          internalEvents: params.internalEvents,
+        });
+        if (textDelivery) {
+          return textDelivery;
+        }
+      }
       // The requester-agent handoff is the delivery contract for background
       // completions. A failed handoff should retry/fail visibly instead
       // of sending the child result directly to the external channel.
@@ -1034,6 +1139,25 @@ async function sendSubagentAnnounceDirectly(params: {
         error: directDeliveryFailure,
       };
     }
+    if (
+      params.expectsCompletionMessage &&
+      shouldDeliverAgentFinal &&
+      isSubagentCompletion &&
+      !hasVisibleGatewayAgentPayload(directAnnounceResponse) &&
+      !hasGatewayAgentMessagingToolDeliveryEvidence(directAnnounceResponse) &&
+      !hasIntentionalSilentGatewayAgentPayload(directAnnounceResponse)
+    ) {
+      const textDelivery = await deliverTextCompletionDirect({
+        cfg,
+        requesterSessionKey: canonicalRequesterSessionKey,
+        directIdempotencyKey: params.directIdempotencyKey,
+        deliveryTarget,
+        internalEvents: params.internalEvents,
+      });
+      if (textDelivery) {
+        return textDelivery;
+      }
+    }
     if (
       params.expectsCompletionMessage &&
       requiresMessageToolDelivery &&