diff --git a/src/agent/state.rv b/src/agent/state.rv
index 2bb59d5..fc2aa5b 100644
--- a/src/agent/state.rv
+++ b/src/agent/state.rv
@@ -346,7 +346,19 @@ impl AgentState {
 
     // ask with extra lines (a diff preview) shown under the label.
     fun ask_detail(self, desc: String, detail: String) -> Int {
+        // Esc already asked to stop: answer deny without showing a prompt.
+        // Askers queue on ask_lock, so with parallel subagents running the
+        // user would otherwise have to dismiss one prompt per waiting caller
+        // before the turn actually ended.
+        if self.interrupted() {
+            return 0
+        }
         self.ask_lock.lock()
+        // The interrupt may have landed while this caller waited its turn.
+        if self.interrupted() {
+            self.ask_lock.unlock()
+            return 0
+        }
         self.lock.lock()
         self.pending = desc
         self.pending_detail = detail
@@ -381,7 +393,15 @@ impl AgentState {
     // ask_lock and decision channel with approvals, so only one prompt is
     // in front of the user at a time.
     fun ask_question(self, q: String, options: List<String>) -> Int {
+        // Declined without prompting once Esc has asked the turn to stop.
+        if self.interrupted() {
+            return 0 - 1
+        }
         self.ask_lock.lock()
+        if self.interrupted() {
+            self.ask_lock.unlock()
+            return 0 - 1
+        }
         self.lock.lock()
         self.question = q
         self.choices = options
diff --git a/src/agent/state_test.rv b/src/agent/state_test.rv
index e4011e7..bc3eb64 100644
--- a/src/agent/state_test.rv
+++ b/src/agent/state_test.rv
@@ -118,6 +118,25 @@ fun test_interrupt_cancels_the_stream_token() {
     assert_false(st.token().canceled())
 }
 
+// Once Esc has asked the turn to stop, an approval is denied outright rather
+// than queued in front of the user. Both calls return without blocking on a
+// decision, which is what lets a turn with parallel agents actually end on
+// one Esc instead of one per waiting caller.
+fun test_approval_is_denied_without_prompting_after_an_interrupt() {
+    let st = AgentState.new()
+    st.request_interrupt()
+    assert_eq_int(st.ask_detail("write_file(a.txt)", ""), 0)
+    assert_eq_str(st.pending_now(), "")
+}
+
+fun test_question_is_declined_without_prompting_after_an_interrupt() {
+    let st = AgentState.new()
+    st.request_interrupt()
+    let options: List<String> = ["keep", "drop"]
+    assert_eq_int(st.ask_question("which?", options), 0 - 1)
+    assert_eq_str(st.question_now(), "")
+}
+
 fun test_pending_is_readable_without_draining_events() {
     let st = AgentState.new()
     st.emit(DisplayEvent.Started)
diff --git a/src/agent/subturn.rv b/src/agent/subturn.rv
index 53d61f2..1630429 100644
--- a/src/agent/subturn.rv
+++ b/src/agent/subturn.rv
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ fun run_subagent(
         history.push(Message.assistant_calls(reply_text, calls))
         let i = 0
         while i < calls.len() {
+            // Esc between the calls of one batch stops the subagent here, so
+            // the rest of the batch does not run after the user asked to stop.
+            if st.interrupted() {
+                st.emit(DisplayEvent.AgentFinished(id, agent.name, used))
+                return "error: interrupted"
+            }
             let call = calls[i]
             let result = _sub_one(st, agent, call, allowed)
             st.emit(DisplayEvent.AgentTool(id, agent.name, label(call), _short(result)))
diff --git a/src/agent/subturn_test.rv b/src/agent/subturn_test.rv
index 581d934..d9815b4 100644
--- a/src/agent/subturn_test.rv
+++ b/src/agent/subturn_test.rv
@@ -156,3 +156,30 @@ fun test_subagent_write_approval_shows_and_records_the_preview() {
     remove_file(path)
     return
 }
+
+// A subagent's mutating call after Esc is denied on the spot: it must not put
+// a fresh approval prompt in front of a user who already asked to stop, and
+// the write must not happen. Runs inline, since nothing should block.
+fun test_subagent_mutation_after_an_interrupt_is_denied_without_prompting() {
+    reset_hooks()
+    let path = "_rook_sub_interrupted.txt"
+    if exists(path) {
+        remove_file(path)
+    }
+    let st = AgentState.new()
+    st.request_interrupt()
+    let allowed: List<String> = []
+    let result = _sub_one_with_hooks(
+        st,
+        full_agent("worker"),
+        call("write_file", "{\"path\":\"_rook_sub_interrupted.txt\",\"content\":\"changed\"}"),
+        allowed,
+        allowing_pre_hook,
+        record_post_hook,
+        ask_permission,
+    )
+    assert_true(result.contains("denied"))
+    assert_eq_str(st.pending_now(), "")
+    assert_true(!exists(path))
+    return
+}
diff --git a/src/agent/turn.rv b/src/agent/turn.rv
index 4e2749d..701c2ef 100644
--- a/src/agent/turn.rv
+++ b/src/agent/turn.rv
@@ -127,27 +127,29 @@ fun run_turn(st: AgentState, model: String, api_key: String, base_url: String) {
         // in one batch fan out to concurrent goroutines; everything else
         // runs in order on this one.
         st.push_assistant_calls(reply_text, calls)
-        // Esc may have landed while the model was streaming this tool request.
-        // Skip running the batch so a tool the user pre-approved this turn does
-        // not execute after they asked to stop, but still record a result for
-        // each call so the conversation stays balanced for a resume.
-        if st.interrupted() {
-            let c = 0
-            while c < calls.len() {
-                st.push_tool_result(calls[c].id, calls[c].name, "(interrupted by user before running)")
-                c = c + 1
-            }
-            st.emit(DisplayEvent.Info("Interrupted"))
-            _end_turn(st)
-            return
-        }
         let fanout = _count_dispatch(calls) >= 2
         let fanout_results = ToolResults.new(calls.len())
-        if fanout {
+        // Nothing is about to run if Esc already landed while the model was
+        // streaming this request, so do not announce a fan-out that will not
+        // happen.
+        if fanout && !st.interrupted() {
             st.emit(DisplayEvent.Info("running ${_count_dispatch(calls)} agents in parallel…"))
         }
         let i = 0
+        // The index of the first call left unrun by an Esc, -1 when the whole
+        // batch ran and 0 when the stop arrived before any call started.
+        let stopped = 0 - 1
         while i < calls.len() {
+            // Esc can land between the calls of one batch, not just before it.
+            // Without this the rest of the batch still runs: read-only calls
+            // silently, and a mutating one puts another approval prompt in
+            // front of a user who already asked to stop. Checking here rather
+            // than before the loop keeps the interrupted bookkeeping in one
+            // place below, since a stop that beat the batch is just stopped=0.
+            if st.interrupted() {
+                stopped = i
+                break
+            }
             let call = calls[i]
             if fanout && call.name == "dispatch" {
                 let idx = i
@@ -177,6 +179,31 @@ fun run_turn(st: AgentState, model: String, api_key: String, base_url: String) {
             }
             i = i + 1
         }
+        // Esc stopped the batch part way. Wait only for the calls that were
+        // actually started (a spawned agent still owns its slot), then record a
+        // result for each one that never ran so the conversation stays balanced
+        // for a resume, and end the turn.
+        if stopped >= 0 {
+            if fanout {
+                while fanout_results.count() < stopped {
+                    sleep_millis(20)
+                }
+                let d = 0
+                while d < stopped {
+                    st.push_tool_result(calls[d].id, calls[d].name, fanout_results.get(d))
+                    d = d + 1
+                }
+            }
+            let c = stopped
+            while c < calls.len() {
+                st.push_tool_result(calls[c].id, calls[c].name, "(interrupted by user before running)")
+                c = c + 1
+            }
+            st.emit(DisplayEvent.Info("Interrupted"))
+            _report_usage(st, model)
+            _end_turn(st)
+            return
+        }
         // Every agent's result must be in the conversation before the next
         // round's request is built.
         if fanout {
diff --git a/src/agent/turn_e2e_test.rv b/src/agent/turn_e2e_test.rv
index 9235d0e..5f0dbf8 100644
--- a/src/agent/turn_e2e_test.rv
+++ b/src/agent/turn_e2e_test.rv
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ let fanout_hits = 0
 let ask_hits = 0
 let perm_hits = 0
 let plan_hits = 0
+let batch_hits = 0
+let fanout_stop_hits = 0
 
 // Round 1: ask to read a file. Round 2: answer.
 fun read_handler(req: Request) -> Response {
@@ -77,6 +79,56 @@ fun serve_plan() {
     app.listen("127.0.0.1:8469")
 }
 
+// Round 1: two write_file calls in one batch, so Esc can land between them.
+fun batch_handler(req: Request) -> Response {
+    batch_hits = batch_hits + 1
+    if batch_hits == 1 {
+        return Response.text(
+            "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"tool_calls\":[{\"index\":0,\"id\":\"b1\",\"function\":{\"name\":\"write_file\",\"arguments\":\"{\\\"path\\\":\\\"_rook_e2e_batch_a.txt\\\",\\\"content\\\":\\\"a\\\"}\"}},{\"index\":1,\"id\":\"b2\",\"function\":{\"name\":\"write_file\",\"arguments\":\"{\\\"path\\\":\\\"_rook_e2e_batch_b.txt\\\",\\\"content\\\":\\\"b\\\"}\"}}]}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"tool_calls\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+        )
+    }
+    return Response.text(
+        "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"content\":\"Wrote both files.\"}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"stop\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+    )
+}
+
+fun serve_batch() {
+    let app = Server.new()
+    app.post("/v1/chat/completions", batch_handler)
+    app.listen("127.0.0.1:8470")
+}
+
+// Round 1: dispatch, write_file, dispatch. The write in the middle needs
+// approval, which gives Esc a deterministic place to land with one agent
+// already spawned and one dispatch still ahead of it.
+fun fanout_stop_handler(req: Request) -> Response {
+    if req.body.contains("echo agent") {
+        return Response.text(
+            "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"content\":\"echo done\"}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"stop\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+        )
+    }
+    if req.body.contains("shout agent") {
+        return Response.text(
+            "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"content\":\"SHOUT DONE\"}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"stop\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+        )
+    }
+    fanout_stop_hits = fanout_stop_hits + 1
+    if fanout_stop_hits == 1 {
+        return Response.text(
+            "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"tool_calls\":[{\"index\":0,\"id\":\"g1\",\"function\":{\"name\":\"dispatch\",\"arguments\":\"{\\\"agent\\\":\\\"echoer\\\",\\\"task\\\":\\\"say it\\\"}\"}},{\"index\":1,\"id\":\"g2\",\"function\":{\"name\":\"write_file\",\"arguments\":\"{\\\"path\\\":\\\"_rook_e2e_fanstop.txt\\\",\\\"content\\\":\\\"x\\\"}\"}},{\"index\":2,\"id\":\"g3\",\"function\":{\"name\":\"dispatch\",\"arguments\":\"{\\\"agent\\\":\\\"shouter\\\",\\\"task\\\":\\\"shout it\\\"}\"}}]}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"tool_calls\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+        )
+    }
+    return Response.text(
+        "data: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{\"content\":\"All three ran.\"}}]}\n\ndata: {\"choices\":[{\"delta\":{},\"finish_reason\":\"stop\"}]}\n\ndata: [DONE]\n\n",
+    )
+}
+
+fun serve_fanout_stop() {
+    let app = Server.new()
+    app.post("/v1/chat/completions", fanout_stop_handler)
+    app.listen("127.0.0.1:8471")
+}
+
 // One server plays both sides of a dispatch: the subagent's requests carry
 // its own system prompt ("echo agent") and get a plain non-streaming
 // answer; the parent's streaming requests get a dispatch call first, then
@@ -419,6 +471,110 @@ fun test_plan_mode_blocks_a_write() {
     return
 }
 
+// Esc at the approval prompt for the first of two writes in one batch must
+// stop the whole batch: the second write neither runs nor re-prompts.
+fun test_esc_at_an_approval_stops_the_rest_of_the_batch() {
+    spawn(fun() -> Unit {
+        serve_batch()
+    })
+    sleep_millis(200)
+    let st = AgentState.new()
+    st.push_user("write both files")
+    st.begin()
+    spawn(fun() -> Unit {
+        run_turn(st, "custom/local", "", "http://127.0.0.1:8470/v1")
+    })
+    // Play the user pressing Esc at the prompt: deny, then interrupt.
+    _interrupt_when_pending(st)
+    let got = e2e_drain(st)
+    assert_true(got.contains("[info Interrupted]"))
+    // Neither file exists: the first was denied, the second never ran.
+    assert_true(!exists("_rook_e2e_batch_a.txt"))
+    assert_true(!exists("_rook_e2e_batch_b.txt"))
+    // The second call was never even offered for approval.
+    assert_true(!got.contains("write_file(_rook_e2e_batch_b.txt)"))
+    // Every call still carries a tool result, so the history stays balanced
+    // for a resume: user, assistant(two tool_calls), two tool_results.
+    let msgs = st.messages()
+    assert_eq_int(msgs.len(), 4)
+    assert_eq_str(msgs[2].tool_call_id, "b1")
+    assert_eq_str(msgs[3].tool_call_id, "b2")
+    assert_true(msgs[3].content.contains("interrupted by user"))
+    return
+}
+
+// Esc mid fan-out: the batch is dispatch, write_file, dispatch, so the stop
+// lands at the write's approval with the first agent already spawned and the
+// second dispatch still ahead. The turn must wait for the agent it started
+// (rather than for a slot nothing will ever fill), skip the one it did not,
+// and still leave every call with a result.
+fun test_esc_mid_fanout_waits_only_for_started_agents() {
+    create_dir_all(".agents/subagents")
+    fs_write(
+        ".agents/subagents/echoer.md",
+        "---\ndescription: echoes things\n---\nYou are the echo agent.",
+    )
+    fs_write(
+        ".agents/subagents/shouter.md",
+        "---\ndescription: shouts things\n---\nYou are the shout agent.",
+    )
+    spawn(fun() -> Unit {
+        serve_fanout_stop()
+    })
+    sleep_millis(200)
+    let st = AgentState.new()
+    st.push_user("run all three")
+    st.begin()
+    spawn(fun() -> Unit {
+        run_turn(st, "custom/local", "", "http://127.0.0.1:8471/v1")
+    })
+    _interrupt_when_pending(st)
+    // Reaching the end of the drain at all is the point: a stopped fan-out
+    // that waited on the unstarted dispatch's slot would block here forever.
+    let got = e2e_drain(st)
+    assert_true(got.contains("[info Interrupted]"))
+    // The first agent was already running when Esc landed; the second was
+    // never started, and the denied write never happened.
+    assert_true(got.contains("[agent echoer started]"))
+    assert_true(!got.contains("[agent shouter started]"))
+    assert_true(!exists("_rook_e2e_fanstop.txt"))
+    // All three calls carry a result, in call order: the started agent's (its
+    // own answer or an interrupted one, depending on where the cancel landed),
+    // the denied write, then the placeholder for the dispatch that never ran.
+    let msgs = st.messages()
+    assert_eq_int(msgs.len(), 5)
+    assert_eq_str(msgs[2].tool_call_id, "g1")
+    assert_eq_str(msgs[3].tool_call_id, "g2")
+    assert_eq_str(msgs[4].tool_call_id, "g3")
+    assert_true(msgs[4].content.contains("interrupted by user"))
+    remove_file(".agents/subagents/echoer.md")
+    remove_file(".agents/subagents/shouter.md")
+    remove_dir(".agents/subagents")
+    remove_dir(".agents")
+    return
+}
+
+// Poll for a pending approval and answer it the way Esc does: deny the call
+// and ask the turn to stop.
+fun _interrupt_when_pending(st: AgentState) {
+    spawn(fun() -> Unit {
+        let tries = 0
+        let answered = false
+        while tries < 400 && !answered {
+            if st.pending_now() != "" {
+                // Same order the UI uses: raise the flag, then release the
+                // goroutine, so it cannot slip past the stop.
+                st.request_interrupt()
+                st.decide(0)
+                answered = true
+            }
+            sleep_millis(10)
+            tries = tries + 1
+        }
+    })
+    return
+}
+
 // Poll for a pending approval and allow it once, the way the UI would. Uses
 // pending_now so it never drains display events out from under e2e_drain.
 fun _approve_when_pending(st: AgentState) {
diff --git a/src/app/update.rv b/src/app/update.rv
index 3c87da7..1236986 100644
--- a/src/app/update.rv
+++ b/src/app/update.rv
@@ -902,10 +902,13 @@ fun _question_key(m: Chat, k: Key) -> Step<Chat> {
         },
         Esc -> {
             // Match the approval prompt: Esc backs out of the whole turn, not
-            // just the question, so an interrupt never feels swallowed.
+            // just the question, so an interrupt never feels swallowed. Raise
+            // the interrupt before answering: decide() unblocks the turn
+            // goroutine, and if the flag is not set yet it can get through the
+            // next round or tool call before it sees the stop.
+            m.agent.request_interrupt()
             m.agent.decide(0 - 1)
             m.question = ""
-            m.agent.request_interrupt()
         },
         _ -> {},
     }
@@ -935,9 +938,12 @@ fun _approval_key(m: Chat, k: Key) -> Step<Chat> {
             m.pending = ""
         },
         Esc -> {
+            // Interrupt first, then answer: decide() releases the waiting turn
+            // goroutine immediately, so setting the flag afterwards races with
+            // it and the turn can run another tool call before noticing.
+            m.agent.request_interrupt()
             m.agent.decide(0)
             m.pending = ""
-            m.agent.request_interrupt()
         },
         _ -> {},
     }