Arthur and Linus take unregistered David on an earlier train, hoping to avoid Rowder’s attention. David’s “disguise” is conspicuously absurd—ice blocks for shoes, a trench coat, fedora, shades, and a fake mustache—drawing looks and forcing Linus to remind David to keep a low profile. When Arthur spots a propaganda poster urging citizens to report threats, Arthur tears it down and burns it to ash before boarding.

On the ride, David is thrilled by everything at first, then grows quiet and anxious, admitting he worries the island children won’t like him. Linus and Arthur reassure David that expecting the worst can hide what good might happen. David’s mood lifts when he spots birds outside, and the promise of the island begins to feel real as the weather clears.

At the coastal platform, heat makes David’s ice sizzle and melt, and he hesitates before stepping onto the ground. Helen arrives and greets them warmly, and David excitedly recounts his trip. In town, David is shocked to see a cyclops family vacationing openly without hostility; Helen and Linus explain Marsyas has changed and is becoming a place that welcomes everyone. Instead of taking the ferry, Helen drives the truck straight off the dock onto a salt road Zoe has raised from the sea to the island, making David laugh and shout with exhilaration.

At the house, Zoe welcomes them, and the children crowd the windows before bursting out with a glittery banner reading “WELCOME HOME, DAVID!” David hides behind Linus at first, but the children introduce themselves amid jokes, theatrics, and Lucy’s dramatic claims about being Lucifer. Zoe and Helen notice Linus’s ring and realize Arthur and Linus are engaged, celebrating the news. Inside, David and Calliope the cat immediately square off when David declares cats are food; Arthur sets a strict “no eating without written permission” rule, and David reluctantly agrees.

The children lead David—eyes closed—to a new blue door labeled “DAVID,” then reveal stairs down into a transformed cellar. The ceiling is painted like the aurora borealis, and the room is remodeled into a freezing, comfortable bedroom designed for a yeti, complete with vents, bed, wardrobe, drawers, and new cellar doors letting in daylight. Overwhelmed, David admits he has never had his own room; he cries ice cubes, and Sal and Theodore gently reassure David using their own experience of fear and hope. Late that night, the household piles into Arthur and Linus’s bed for a chaotic sleepover, ending with Chauncey innocently asking Arthur about the ring and no one getting much sleep.