Author's Note: A guest reviewed (that I didn't approve) saying they wanted to see a Buffy/Cordelia pairing. Not happening. Only femslash will be Willow/Tara. Buffy pairings are canon till season 8 at which point she will get an OC pairing.
Chapter 61: We All Scream for Ice Cream
At Payson's the place is full of people dancing. Buffy, Phoebe and Piper are in the alcove. Piper is peeking around the curtain, looking at some guy. The guy is staring back at her.
Phoebe comes and stands next to her. "What's with the hide-and-go-peek?"
"That's what I'm wondering," Buffy says.
"He's still staring at me." Piper says.
"Who?" Phoebe asks.
"The guy at the end of the bar." Piper says.
The guy smiles.
"Oh, no, honey, that's not staring, that's flirting." Phoebe says.
Buffy gets up and looks at the guy. "He's cute."
"You say tomato." Piper says.
"No, I say relax-o." Phoebe says as they sit back down. "He seems pretty harmless. I mean, he's clean cut, innocent. The kind of guy that a girl could teach a few things to."
"Hello? A girl that's in a serious relationship. Besides, it's always the innocent looking ones you have to watch out for." Piper says.
Prue walks in the alcove and sits down. "Hi, hey, alright, I need some professional help."
Buffy shakes her head, "No arguments here."
Prue rolls her eyes, "Ha, cute. Uh, where is your DJ?"
Buffy looks to Piper, "I'm just the owner, you're the Manager, Piper."
"Uh, he's on break. Why? What's going on?" Piper says.
Prue nods, "You know when you get a song stuck in your head and you can't seem to get it out?"
"Yeah, tell me about it. I couldn't get The Facts of Life theme song out of my head for like three years." Phoebe says.
Buffy rolls her eyes.
"Alright, well, I have absolutely no idea what this one is and it's driving me crazy. And I thought that maybe your DJ might recognise it or something." Prue says.
"How's it go?" Piper asks.
"I'm not gonna sing it for you." Prue says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Why not? Maybe we'll recognise it."
Prue sighs, "Okay." She hums something. "Anything?"
Piper shakes her head, "Nada."
"Sorry." Buffy says.
Phoebe smiles, "I'm thinking if you try it again with a little bit more oomph, you know, maybe some choreography, and Piper could back you up with some old-school beatbox?"
Prue shakes her head, "Why did I know that I would get absolutely no help out of you crazy people?" She walks away as Buffy, Piper and Phoebe follow.
"Oh, come on, wait a minute. Wait. We can't let you leave completely empty handed." Piper says and hands Prue a card.
"What is this?" Prue asks.
"Well, it seems like you really reconnected with our friend Justin. He's inviting us to his big annual family barbecue." Buffy says.
"Sounds like fun." Piper says.
Prue frowns, "For who? I mean, you know, Justin and I are still in the flirtatious banter stage in the relationship. I think hanging out with the folks might put a dampener on it."
"Is that all?" Phoebe asks.
Prue nods, "Yeah, what do you mean?"
"I mean, are you sure it's not because it's a big family gathering?" Phoebe says.
Prue sighs, "Okay, if you're gonna go with the "Prue's got parental issues" card, let me save you some time."
Buffy shakes her head, "Oh, Prue, it's not like we blame you. I mean, seeing complete connected families is hard on all of us, but we can't spend our lives avoiding what bothers us."
Prue shakes her head, "The only thing bothering me right now is that I cannot get this stupid song out of my head, alright? So I really appreciate your concern, but you know what I would appreciate even more? Five minutes with your DJ." She walks off humming the song.
That night in Buffy's room she is tossing and turning as she is having a nightmare. In her nightmare is a snowy playground. A child screams and yells "help me". The little girl runs through the playground over to her father. Buffy's alarm wakes her up. It reads 7:00am.
The next morning Prue walks out on the front porch and picks up the newspaper. She looks around and hears a tune.
In kitchen Phoebe is there looking at some information on Cole on the laptop. "Come on, Cole. Talk to me."
Prue walks in. "Morning, sunshine." Phoebe ignores her. "Okay, how about, uh, cloudy with a chance of showers?"
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Phoebe says.
Buffy walks into the kitchen. She walks over to the fridge and grabs a coke.
"Nothing pressing. You pull an all-nighter again?" Prue says.
"Yeah, uh, subject matter's been elusive." Phoebe says as she gets an Instant Messenger on her laptop.
"Caught by the bell. Who's the instant message from?" Prue asks.
Buffy walks over and sits next to Phoebe.
Phoebe closes the laptop. "Oh, it's nothing."
"Alright, well, nothing usually means something, and something usually means a boy, so..." Prue says.
Piper walks in. "Alright, I don't know what you guys are talking about, but what I've got is better... at least bizarrer."
"Bizarrer?" Prue asks.
Piper nods, "Mmm hmm."
Buffy looks at Prue, she can see Prue's feature are nearly identical to the little girl in her dream.
"Is that even a word, Piper?" Phoebe asks.
Piper shrugs, "Whatever. Anyway, Cara called last night, and she had a meeting in the Bay Tech Building yesterday, and she swore that she saw Victor walking through the lobby."
"As in Uncle Victor?" Buffy asks.
Piper nods, "As in we haven't spoken to him in a year, and now he's probably in town, and he hasn't even bothered to call us. Yes, that would be the one. Now you see my need to share?"
"Oh, wait. But Cara hasn't seen him since what?" Phoebe asks.
Piper nods, "Like the first grade, I know, but she sounded very sure. Why do you think he's here? Should we go and try to find him? I mean, what if it has nothing to do with us?"
Prue shakes her head, "Well, I for one am not going to go out of my way to find out."
"Wait, you're not even curious? Come on, Prue. I mean, he is our father." Phoebe says.
Buffy shakes her head, "I know I'm not. After what happened last time and him skipping town."
Prue nods, "Like I said before, I've come to terms with our lack of parental involvement. You know, some people just weren't meant to have the Rockwellian porch with the house, the two-car garage, the picket fence, the Golden Retriever, and the doting mom and dad."
"Okay, so we're not the typical family, but he is all we have, Prue." Piper says. "He is your only uncle, Buffy."
Prue shakes her head, "No, Piper, we have each other, okay? And we have other people that love us, too, and very full and busy lives. Speaking of which, I gotta dash. If you want to have lunch, I'll be up on Knob Hill in the park for... doing a shoot, okay?"
Phoebe nods, "Okay."
"Okay." Prue says.
Buffy nods, "Prue can I ride along. I need to talk to you."
"Sure, Buffy." Prue says.
"Hey, can I walk you out?" Piper asks.
Prue nods, "That would be so nice."
Buffy, Prue and Piper leave kitchen. Moments later in the car.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Prue asks.
"I had a dream last night. I think it might have been a premonition." Buffy says.
"I thought you no longer got premonitions in your sleep anymore." Prue says.
Buffy nods, "I thought so too. See the thing is I think my premonition was of a past event with you on a playground surrounded by snow."
Prue shakes her head, "Rings no immediate bells. You will let me know if you have another premonition though?"
Buffy nods, "Of course. While were here. I passed my written and driven tests…"
Prue nods, "And now you would like to see about getting a car."
Buffy smiles, "You know me so well, Prue."
"We'll talk about it later okay." Prue says.
Later in a building Buffy and Prue are stuck in a crowded elevator. Prue looks at her watch. She hears someone humming the tune. she looks around. The elevator door opens and a little girl walks out humming the tune.
"Oh, excuse me." Prue says as she tries to get out but people get in the way. The door closes in her face.
Later Buffy, Prue and Phoebe are sitting on a bench eating lunch.
"So, they say stick to what you know. So I pitched a piece about growing up in the city. Hopefully, it'll make the cover." Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "You're dodging. Artfully, but it's still a dodge."
"Right, did you ever consider that maybe I just don't wanna go?" Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "It has nothing to do with the barbecue, or the guy that asked you to go with him. It has to do with your dad."
Prue sighs, "Why do you insist on pinning everything that I do on my feelings or lack thereof for our father?"
"Prue, you say you're over it, but you say it so much that I have this feeling that the person you're trying to convince is yourself. And believe me, after what I went through with Cole, if anyone understands that, it's me." Phoebe says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Uhm I don't think having a demonic boyfriend counts, Pheebs. If it did I would win because of Angel."
Prue nods, "My feelings for our father are in the past which means it really has no place in the present."
A girl starts humming the tune.
"So Justin gets penalised for it." Phoebe says.
"There it is." Prue says.
"What?" Phoebe asks.
"The tune that's stuck in your head?" Buffy asks.
"That song. Don't you hear it, Phoebe? Somebody's humming it." Prue says.
Buffy nods, "I hear it but it could be because of my Slayer hearing."
Prue runs over to a little girl as Buffy and Phoebe follows. "Hi. Hey. I was wondering if you could tell me what that song is you're humming."
The girl points to an ice cream truck that drives by.
"Okay, riddle solved. Now you can stop humming that stupid song. So I think we were in the middle of you trying to make a strong argument of why you're not gonna go to Justin's barbecue." Phoebe says as Prue continues to stare at the truck. "Prue, if you keep ignoring me, my feelings just might actually implode."
The girls runs off towards the truck.
"It's cold out." Prue says.
Phoebe nods, "Yeah, it's a little thing we like to call winter here."
Buffy shakes her head, "I see where your going Prue. Why would a child want ice cream when it's this cold out, and the truck pulled up and no one budged, and did you notice? There are no parents."
Phoebe frowns, "Okay, connect the dots for me, please?" Prue walks off, followed by Buffy. "Uh, preferably standing still." Phoebe follows them. "Do you have a hankering for a snow cone? Prue, we're in the middle of a conversation, and considering your lunch hour ended, oh, five minutes ago, we should probably make this fast."
"Yeah, well, something's wrong." Prue says.
Buffy nods in agreement.
"Yeah, I know that. Why don't you talk to me about it?" Phoebe says.
Prue shakes her head, "Not with me, Phoebe, with this, alright? I have a total déjà vu coming on."
"Okay, so first you're humming weird songs, now you're having flashbacks?" Phoebe asks.
A girl walks up to the window of the Ice cream truck. "Hello?"
"Would you like some ice cream, little one?" Ice Cream Man says.
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe walk up to the truck. The girl starts to get sucked into the truck.
"Alright, I mean, it's usually that my instinct is pretty much..." Prue says.
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe grab her legs and pull her back out. The ice cream man pokes his head out the window. Buffy, Prue, Phoebe and the girl get sucked into the truck.
Inside the ice cream truck Buffy, Prue and Phoebe are there in the snowy playground.
Buffy looks around, "Prue!"
"Uh, alright, where's the little girl?" Prue asks.
Phoebe shakes her head, "I don't know. I was holding onto her and then..."
Prue nods, "We have to find her."
"Well, first we have to figure out where the hell we are." Phoebe says.
"PRUE!" Buffy says as Prue and Phoebe look to her. "I know where we are. This is the playground from my premonition."
"Your sure?" Prue asks.
Buffy nods, "Yeah I'm positive. Which also likely means we're not still in the ice cream truck."
"Or even worse, we are still in the ice cream truck." Phoebe says. They hear children in the distance. "Prue..."
Prue nods, "I know, I hear it too." They hear a noise which gives them a fright. "Alright, if there's a way in, there's definitely a way out."
The ice cream man comes up behind them. "Who are you?"
Prue and Phoebe scream. Buffy tries to power up a fireball but nothing happens. "No powers."
"Why am I not surprised," Phoebe says. A hole opens up above them and the Ice Cream Man runs away. They hear more noises. "Okay, something tells me he was not running from us."
"Okay, let's go." Prue says.
They start to run off but a little boy (Ari) comes out of the bushes. "Help! Please help me." They go over to him.
"Help you from what?" Buffy asks.
"The Nothing." Ari says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Is that the man that we just saw here?"
Ari shakes his head, "It's up there. It comes for you, for everybody. When it gets you, the only thing left where you stood is nothing. You never know when it's coming, and you never know who it wants. We try to hide, but he keeps finding us. Hurry, it's coming. In here." He runs towards the bushes. "Come on. Come here, in here."
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe follow him in the bushes. They crouch down beside a tree.
A girl comes out of the bushes near by. "Wait for me!"
"Run!" Prue says.
"Help!" The girl says as runs towards them but trips and falls over.
"She's not gonna make it." Buffy says as she runs towards the girl.
The girls gets sucked up into the Nothing.
"Buffy, come on." Phoebe says as she and Prue pulls Buffy back into the bushes.
"She was right there." Buffy says. "I tried running at full Slayer speed and it's like even that doesn't work here."
Phoebe nods, "Buffy, it's not your fault. Our powera and your Slayer abilities don't work here, we know that now. We'll be better prepared next time."
"Does that mean that you're gonna save us?" Ari asks.
"Us?" Prue asks.
Ari nods, "There are others just like me, hiding, captured by the Ice Cream Man. If he doesn't want you here, that must mean you have the power to save us. We should go. The Nothing'll be coming back. He always does. Come on."
"Are we going in circles? This looks like the exact same playground." Phoebe asks moments later.
Ari nods, "In this place, everywhere you go looks the same. That's how the Nothing gets you. Only a few of us can find our way."
Phoebe slaps Prue on the arm. Prue gasps. "Why couldn't you get a boy-band song in your head like everybody else?"
"Alright, just tell us everything that you know about the mean Ice Cream Man." Buffy says.
Ari nods, "Just that he's the one that put us here."
"Alright, so is he in charge of the Nothing?" Prue asks.
Ari shrugs, "I don't know. I guess. The others are gonna be so happy to see you. We've been wishing and hoping that someday someone would come and save us, and now you're here."
"Well, we're gonna do whatever we can to get you out of here. So why don't you take us to your friends?" Phoebe says.
Ari nods, "Through here." He walks off. Phoebe touches a swing and has a premonition of Prue as a little girl. She is in the ice cream truck, calling out. She runs over to her father and he hugs her tightly.
"What is it?" Prue asks.
Phoebe looks to Buffy, "Here, Prue as a little girl."
Buffy nods, "Exactly what I saw."
Phoebe looks to Prue, "You were here with dad."
"Uncle Victor?" Buffy asks and Phoebe nods. "My premonition cut out before I saw his face."
A moment later kids are standing in front of Buffy, Prue and Phoebe.
"Alright, is that all of you?" Prue asks.
"All that's left." Ari says.
"Are you gonna save us?" A girl asks.
Phoebe nods, "We're gonna try."
Buffy nods, "Alright, I think the only way out of here is to go through the person that..." Prue sees the ice cream man standing near by. "Put us here in the first place."
"The Ice Cream Man? But how are we supposed to find him?" Phoebe asks.
Prue smiles, "Something tells me that's not gonna be very hard."
"Why not?" Phoebe asks.
"Oh, because he's right over there." Prue says pointing at him. The ice cream man runs away. "Okay, you kids stay here. We'll take care of the good humour man. Let's go."
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe run after him.
"There he is, by the slide." Buffy says.
Prue nods, "Alright, oh, hey, wait. Look at that." They see a hole behind a slide. "What does that look like to you?"
"The street from the back of the truck." Phoebe says.
Prue nods, "That's right."
"The way out. Okay, all that we need now are the, uh..." Buffy says.
The kids come up to them.
"Hey, we were just coming to get you. Come on, we're going home." Phoebe says.
Prue nods, "Come on, come on, come on. (A girl goes up the slide and jumps out of the truck.
"One down." Buffy says as a boy jumps outside. "That's another one."
The ice cream man sees them. "No!"
"Ooh, hurry! Get!" Prue says.
Ari jumps outside.
"I'm going next." Phoebe says.
Buffy nods, "Okay, but go. Prue your next."
"Get away from the door!" Ice Cream Man says.
Phoebe jumps out and so does Prue and finally Buffy.
Outside everyone moves away from the truck except Ari.
"Ari, come on, hurry up." Phoebe says.
The ice cream man grabs Ari by the shirt. Ari grabs the ice cream man's wrists and burns his hands. Ari pushes him back in the truck and closes the door.
"Oh." Prue says.
"Something tells me he's a demon." Buffy says.
"Oh, my God." Phoebe says.
Ari smiles, "Actually," his voice morphs and sounds quite demonic, "quite the opposite."
"Okay, we need to keep him away from the other kids." Prue says.
Ari shakes his head, "I don't think they'll listen to you. You're not the boss of them."
"Did you do it?" Demon Girl asks.
Ari nods. "Say thank you to the witches and the Slayer."
Demon Boy and Girl smiles and speaks together, "Thank you."
They laugh and run off.
At the Manor Piper and Leo are sitting on the couch.
"Why don't we try focusing on the positive? They're together." Leo says.
"That's it? That's your positive? Because I've got a list mile long in the negative column. They've been gone all night, Leo, and not even you can find them." Piper says.
Leo sighs, "I'm sure they're fine."
"You don't know that." Piper says.
"Piper, any minute now they are gonna walk through that door with a perfectly good explanation." Leo says.
Buffy, Prue and Phoebe walk through the front door.
"Piper." Prue says.
Piper looks at Leo. He looks stunned.
"See?" Leo says.
"Prue? Phoebe? Buffy?" Piper says as she goes over and hugs them. "Where..."
"Were we? Oh, I would like to know the same thing." Phoebe says.
Buffy sighs, "All that we know is that we have to go back."
"Wait a minute, is this demon or sibling-related?" Piper asks.
Phoebe smiles, "A little bit of both. We thought the good guys were bad guys, and in trying to vanquish them, we helped the real bad guys, which were dead ringers for good guys."
"Was that English?" Leo asks.
"Phoebe-speak." Buffy says.
Prue nods, "How about we fill in the blanks as we climb the stairs to the big books in the attic?"
"Good idea." Buffy says.
They go upstairs.
Buffy and Prue flip through both Book of Shadows."
"So, he's a demonic dog catcher, and he uses ice cream as bait? Great news for the lactose intolerant demons." Piper says.
Prue shakes her head, "Nothing in here on the demon kids who escaped."
Phoebe sighs, "That we helped escape."
"But there's a whole page dedicated to the Ice Cream Man." Buffy says.
"What?" Piper says and they move over in front of Buffy's book.
"He is mortal." Buffy says.
"What? Do you remember when demons look like demons and innocents look like innocents? Who changed the rules on us?" Phoebe asks.
"Wait, if he's mortal, how does he do it?" Phoebe asks.
Leo shakes his head, "It's not him."
Prue nods as she looks at Buffy's book, "Bingo. It's the song. It says, "The Ice Cream Man plays the Devil's Cord, which is a series of notes that when sounded together specifically attract demon kids like moths to a flame.""
Phoebe nods, "More like moths to nothing. That's what's inside the truck, nothing. That's why he pulls them in there. The Nothing is the only thing that can vanquish them."
"So they might be pint-sized, but they're bad asses." Piper says.
"Alright, but if they couldn't get out on their own, how did you guys?" Leo asks.
"Because he led us out. He tried to save us." Buffy says.
Phoebe nods, "And that is all she wrote, literally. Uh, the Nothing doesn't discriminate. Good or evil, tastes the same."
Piper sighs, "Now the only person who knows anything about the escaped meanies is stuck on the playground and is in serious danger of becoming lunch himself."
"Right, and our powers and Buffy's Slayer abilities don't play, not in this situation. I mean, Pheebs, Buffy and I tried everything to get back in, but the door wouldn't budge. And when I say it wouldn't I mean it wouldn't budge. Buffy tried using all of her Slayer strength to force the door."
"Well, not everything." Phoebe says.
"Hmm? Mind sharing with the room?" Piper says.
"Buffy and Phoebe had a premonition of me." Prue says.
Buffy nods, "On the playground."
"Except in mine, Dad was also on the playground." Phoebe says.
"You were there? How? When?" Piper asks.
"Only one way to find out." Phoebe says.
"Right, but we don't even know where he is, never have, not even now, when he might actually come in handy." Prue says.
Phoebe smiles, "He's here. Dad's in San Francisco. He's been here for the last three months. So it was him that your friend Cara saw. And it was an email from him that I got yesterday that I didn't tell you guys about. He's here, an instant message away."
"Wow," Buffy says.
Piper nods, "Phoebe, this is..."
Phoebe nods, "Huge. I know, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys that I've been keeping in touch with him, but I wanted to. It just never seemed like the right time. So I guess now is the right time. What do you think?"
"Do we have a choice?" Buffy asks.
Phoebe gets out her laptop.
Later at Payson's Buffy, Prue and Phoebe are sitting at the bar. Piper is standing behind it serving them a drink.
"Welcome to Club Switzerland." Piper says.
"Alright, could we just sort of cut the sarcasm there? I just didn't really feel like inviting him to our home for tea and cookies." Prue says.
"He's our father, Prue… Buffy's uncle. This is family." Phoebe says.
Prue shakes her head, "This is business, alright? And don't even think about giving me that look. If he gives us any useful information about the playground, I will be the very first one to thank him."
Phoebe nods, "And then send him packing."
Caleb approaches the bar. "These must be the sisters and cousin I've heard so much about."
"Caleb, uh..." Piper says.
Caleb nods, "And to think I almost didn't swing by today."
"Okay, you know what? I've tried, I really have, and you're not a bad guy, but obviously, the part of your brain meant to take a hint wasn't wired together properly because you're not taking any." Leo stands behind Caleb. "This is a really bad time."
Caleb nods, "Oh, okay, when would be a good time?"
"Help me." Piper says.
Leo smiles, "You got a phone call, it's in the office. Why don't I show you where that is."
"Uh, okay, do you mind if I ask you something?" Caleb says as he and Leo walk away.
Piper sighs, "Thank you." Prue looks confused. "Hey, you're just lucky nobody got killed, okay? You hear what I'm saying?"
Victor walks down the stairs and the girls stare at him.
"Well, would it be too much to ask for a hug?" Victor asks.
Phoebe gets up and hugs him. "It's good to see you, daddy."
Victor nods, "Oh, baby, you have no idea. Wow, what a place. This is yours, Piper?"
Piper shakes her head and points to Buffy, "Hers."
Victor frowns, "How?"
Buffy smiles, "It's a long story. Unofficially the club is mine. Officially I don't get it till I turn 21 because of the liquor license. And how I can be in here, Piper got permits to allow teens in and still sell alcohol."
Victor smiles, "It's terrific. The four of you together. I hardly know where to begin."
"Well, I have a suggestion. How about we just cut to the chase?" Prue says.
"Uh, Prue, he just got here. Can't that wait, like, five minutes?" Piper says.
"He's a businessman, Piper. I would think that he would appreciate that. We can do the whole family-bonding thing once the work is done, alright? So, how about you just tell us everything that you know about the playground?" Prue says.
"What playground?" Victor asks.
Phoebe sighs, "Dad, Buffy and I both had a premonition. I know you were there."
Buffy nods, "And somebody's hurt, so we need to get back inside."
"Oh, let it go." Victor says.
Prue shakes her head, "That may be your motto, but we made a mistake, and we would really like to fix it. So just tell us how you got in, and we can handle it from there. We are big witches now."
"Yeah, but you're still my girls. And Buffy is still my niece." Victor says.
Prue frowns, "Victor."
"Prue." Victor says and he is met with silence. "Alright. Yes, I was there. I went in after you, and it was the last thing I ever did as your father. You were home with a cold. You must've been about six. Your mom had some errands to run, so she took your sisters with her and left me home in charge of you."
"You had asked me to read you a story. You used to love that. But the cold was too much for you. You only lasted a page or two. When I left your room you were still sleeping." Victor continues. "I never heard you come downstairs. You must've been looking for a glass of water or me. And that must've been when you heard it."
Prue nods, "The song."
Victor nods, "I mean, I heard a truck drive by and stop a few doors down, but I didn't think anything of it. It was an ice-cream truck. How was I to know? But somehow you did. And you must've gone in the living room following that song. And that's when you saw it happen. A little boy not much older than yourself."
Prue nods, "Yeah. He was standing by the truck, and something pulled him in. He was so scared."
"And you ran out to help him." Victor says.
Buffy nods, "Just like yesterday."
"When I saw your bed empty, I lost my mind. The door was wide open, there was a truck parked outside. I mean, I had no idea what I was getting into but I just had to go." Victor says.
Piper smiles, "You saved Prue."
Victor nods, "But I lost the three of you. And of course it's the reason I didn't know about Buffy till two years ago."
Phoebe nods, "You said that you left because Grams wanted us to use our powers and you didn't."
Victor nods, "That's the truth. And now you know the whole story. I mean, when your grandmother and Patience found out, I had just brought Prue back, but being your father wasn't good enough, but how could I protect you from something like that happening again when I didn't have powers?"
Buffy nods, "Okay, so the Book said the Ice Cream Man is mortal. That's why he can go through the door and we can't, right?"
"So, what do you say, dad? We need your help." Piper says.
Later Buffy, Prue and Piper are walking down the street with Phoebe and Victor walking behind them.
"You know if this doesn't work I can look back and pinpoint the exact moment where it all went wrong." Prue says.
Piper shakes her head, "And that moment's name would be dad? Prue, you got to admit, if he can open the door, then we kinda need him."
Prue sighs, "It's all about word choice, Piper. We don't need him, we need his utter lack of power, right? He opens the door, we save the day, we get on with our lives. It's a one-time group effort."
Buffy sighs, "Glad to see you have a healthy handle on the situation, Prue." She looks back at Victor. She thinks her resentment of him may actually have been because Prue dislike him so much.
"I think I do." Prue says.
"So, yeah, I was surprised to hear from you, but why did you think I wouldn't write you back?" Phoebe says.
Victor nods, "Because as far back as you can remember, I've done very little right by you. I mean, if a guy, let alone your own dad, walks out on you once, maybe you'll give him a second chance, but he appears to make a habit of it..."
Buffy drops in next to them.
"I never thought you left by choice, dad." Phoebe says.
Victor smiles, "Thank you, Phoebe."
"Uncle Victor." Buffy says as she pulls out the locket from under her shirt. "Recognize this?"
Victor smiles and nods, "I gave it to your mother for christmas one year."
Buffy nods, "I haven't taken it off since I saw that video you left for me last time you were here. Mom must have really liked you."
Victor nods, "Of all of Patty's boyfriends in high school and uptil she met me. I was the one Patience actually approved of the most. Of course your Grams didn't approve because I was a mortal. But Patience did and she actually chipped in to pay for mine and Patty's wedding when your Grams didn't."
Buffy smiles, "That's nice. I wish you had been around more. I'm sure you have lots more stories of my mom."
Victor nods, "I do. You know what when were done give me your email address. I'll write to you just like I do Phoebe."
Buffy smiles, "I'd like that."
They walk into an alley.
"Okay, well, this is it." Prue says.
"Uh, but there's nothing here." Piper says.
"Wait, we lost the truck?" Phoebe asks.
The demon kids stand behind them.
"Yeah, but we gained company." Buffy says.
The demon girl blows them away. They laugh.
"Oh, those kids so need to be grounded." Prue says as the kids run off. "Oh, I don't get it. Alright, why pick a fight and then run?"
"Speaking of running, we should run because they're getting away." Piper says.
"No, we can't do that because we have to get back into the truck." Prue says.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Not all of us. Come on, Piper."
Buffy nods, "I'll stay with you, Prue and Uncle Victor."
Phoebe and Piper run off.
"Nice work." Victor says.
Prue shakes her head, "Alright, lost modes of transport are definitely not my forte. So..."
Victor nods, "Prue, sometimes things in life happen for a reason, no magic involved. Truck's been towed."
They see a No Parking/Tow Away sign.
Buffy shakes her head, "Why didn't I see that."
Later at the impound lot Prue's removing a chain from the gate.
"Need a hand?" Victor says.
"Prue I could just flame us over." Buffy says.
Prue shakes her head, "No, I don't need a hand, I don't need anything."
Buffy shakes her head.
They walk over to the truck.
Buffy moves to the side of the truck, "This is where he pulled us in, but since he's still trapped inside, I'm guessing the only way in is through the exit." She tries to open the door but it won't budge. Prue uses her power but still doesn't open. "No go. Okay Uncle Victor."
Prue nods, "You can do it, right?"
"Well, let's just say that chasing demons is not exactly my day job." Victor says.
Prue nods, "Alright, it helps if you specifically focus on the task. Don't think about what's behind the door, that'll only distract you. Picture yourself opening the door. See yourself opening the door, then just do it."
Victor opens the door. "Thanks for the advice."
"Just doing my job." Prue says.
They go inside the truck.
"This would be a lot easier if things stopped moving. We left him right here. Unless..." Buffy says.
Victor nods, "The Nothing. Even mortals have memories, Prue, Buffy. I saw what it did to those children. I know what it could've done to him and to us if we don't act quickly."
Prue nods, "Yeah, well, at least we agree upon one thing."
"Make that two and get out while you still can." Ice Cream Man says from where he is sitting near by.
"Oh, my Goddess. We are so sorry. We didn't know." Buffy says.
"The mistake was mine. You're the Charmed Ones and the Charmed Slayer, you were saving innocents. How could you know they weren't?" Ice Cream Man says.
"How did you know?" Prue asks.
Ice Cream Man nods, "Let's just say we both have friends in high places. The moment I mistakenly pulled you, your sister, and your cousin here in, I was alerted and sent to save you."
"And you get this in return." Buffy says.
"It's getting closer." Victor says.
"Alright, so you got us out of here once, now it's our turn." Prue says.
They help him stand up.
"The children, you must get them back inside the playground." Ice Cream Man says.
Buffy nods, "We will, and you're gonna help us do it."
"I disabled the truck. You'll need to fix it, play the song." Ice Cream Man says
"Don't you dare. You stay with us." Prue says.
Ice Cream Man nods, "Inside..." Prue pulls a small glass tube out of his shirt pocket. "It's for the truck."
"It's almost here. You go first, okay?" Buffy says.
Ice Cream Man shakes his head, "I can be replaced, you two can't."
"No!" Prue says.
Ice Cream Man pushes them away and the Nothing sucks him up.
"Buffy, Prue, it'll be back. We've gotta get out now! You two didn't fail. The only way either of you fail is if you don't get back and do what he asked. Come on." Victor says.
"Head for the slide. Up at the top, that's our way out." Prue says.
Prue starts to get sucked up by the Nothing. "Aah! Daddy! Buffy!"
"Hold on, Prue!" Victor says as he and Buffy grabs Prue's arms.
"Daddy, I need you." Prue says.
"We've got you. We're not leaving without you." Victor says.
"Dad!" Prue says.
"We've got you. Oh, Goddess." Buffy says as she and Victor pulls Prue in.
They make their way up the slide and jump out the exit, Prue uses her power on the demonic kids.
"Alright, any ideas what to do with this?" Prue says handing the glass tube to Victor."
Victor nods, "Eight years of fixing your mother's car has given me one."
Buffy nods, "I'll watch Uncle Victor."
Prue nods, "Alright, we'll buy you two some time." Prue helps Phoebe up. "Hey, need a hand?"
"I need about ten." Phoebe says.
The girl stands up.
"Oh, you need a little time out, missy!" Prue says as she uses her power on the demon girl.
Buffy and Victor opens up the hood of the truck and looks for a place to put the glass tube.
A flame flies out of the demon boy's hand heading for Prue and Phoebe. They jump behind a car.
"Oh, dad, hurry!" Prue says.
Ari walks up to Victor and Buffy throws a fireball at him and sends him flying. Victor puts the tube in its place. The music starts playing and the kids walk over to the truck. They get sucked into the truck.
Piper regains consciousness and Phoebe goes over to her.
Victor looks to Buffy, "Thanks Buffy."
Phoebe smiles, "Welcome to our world, dad."
Piper nods, "When I decide I wanna have kids, you remind me of this day."
Buffy shakes her head, "Don't worry I won't."
Leo and Caleb walk in the junk yard.
"Leo, what are you doing here? Why did you bring him here?" Piper asks.
Leo nods, "He's supposed to be here, Piper."
"You fixed my wheels. Thanks." Caleb says.
Leo nods, " Caleb's the new Ice Cream Man. He filled me in back at the club. Everything's happened the way it was meant to. He was sent here to take over. It's his time."
"So your interest in me..." Piper says.
Caleb nods, "Strictly professional. I was lost, but until I was sure who you were, I couldn't just come up and say, "Hey, are you a Charmed One?" 'Cause I need you to take me to my demon-catching truck. Speaking of which, I'm running kind of late as it is, so, uh, thank you. All of you."
"Good luck." Leo says.
Caleb gets in the truck.
"Something tells me I'm never gonna look at a Creamsicle quite the same way." Phoebe says.
Buffy laughs.
"Hmm." Prue says.
The next day in the Foyer of the Manor Victor's getting ready to leave.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye again." Victor says.
Phoebe hugs him. "Thanks, dad. Keep writing."
Victor nods, "You don't have to keep secrets anymore, Phoebe."
Phoebe smiles, "I know."
Victor nods, "I mean anything." He kisses Phoebe's forehead.
As soon as Phoebe steps away from Victor, Buffy's in there hugging him. "Do you have to leave Uncle Victor?"
Victor nods, "I do. But it won't be forever. Like Phoebe you write, okay."
"It will be my pleasure Uncle Victor." Buffy says.
Victor walks over to Piper and hugs her. "What's the story with this Leo character anyway? How much does he know about you?"
"Uh, just about everything." Piper says.
"Oh, so he's..." Victor says.
Piper smiles, "He's a wonderful man, yes."
Victor nods, "Well, still I think I should have a little chat with him sometime."
"Dad..." Piper says.
Victor smiles, "It's a father's prerogative." He walks over to Prue.
"I'm not saying good bye." Prue says.
"Prue!" Buffy, Piper and Phoebe says.
Prue smiles, "I'm saying see you soon, dad." She hugs him.
Victor nods, "Thank you. You know, that's sort of why I came to town. For this job interview, and although it would entail some travel, I'd be based here in San Francisco, and if you guys think that occasionally this town is big enough for the five of us, I'd like to accept their offer."
"Hmm." Piper says.
Victor nods, "Could I except that as a yes?"
Prue nods, "Yes."
"Heck, yes!" Buffy says.
A horn honks outside.
Victor nods, "That's my cab. Alright," he grabs his stuff, "we've got so much catching up to do."
Piper nods, "It's okay. It's different now."
Victor smiles, "It is, isn't it?" He looks at Buffy. "Besides I believe I owe someone some stories about her mother. You know she would be very proud of you Buffy."
Buffy smiles, "I know."
Victor smiles, "See you soon." He turns and walks out the door.