We All Scream For Ice Cream
P3
The place is full of people dancing. Phoebe and Piper are in the alcove. Piper is peeking around the curtain, looking at some guy and the guy is staring back at her. Phoebe comes and stands next to her "What's with the hide-and-go-peek?" Phoebe asks.
"He's still staring at me." Piper says.
"Who?" Phoebe asks.
"The guy at the end of the bar." Piper says and the guy smiles.
"Oh, no, honey, that's not staring, that's flirting." Phoebe assures her.
Piper looks at her and says "You say tomato."
"No, I say relax-o." Phoebe says followed by a slight laugh. They sit back down and Phoebe continues "He seems pretty harmless. I mean, he's clean cut, innocent, the kind of guy that a girl could teach a few things to."
Piper says "Hello? Kind of girl that's in a serious relationship. Besides, it's always the innocent looking ones you have to watch out for."
Prue walks in the alcove and sits down "Hi, hey, alright, I need some professional help."
Phoebe says to her "No arguments here."
Prue says "Ha, cute." She turns to Piper "Uh, where is your DJ? Or Mikey?"
Piper says "Uh, he's on break. Why? What's going on?"
Prue says "You know when you get a song stuck in your head and you can't seem to get it out?"
Phoebe says "Yeah, tell me about it. I couldn't get The Facts of Life theme song out of my head for, like, three years."
Prue says "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 recognize it or something."
"How's it go?" Piper asks.
Prue looks at them in surprise and says "I'm not gonna sing it for you."
"Why not?" Piper asks "Maybe we'll recognize it."
Prue says "Okay." She starts humming a tune "Anything?"
Piper says "Nada."
Phoebe says "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 beat box?"
"Why did I know that I would get absolutely no help out of you crazy people?" Prue asks sarcastically.
She walks away and Piper and Phoebe follow "Oh, come on, wait a minute. Wait. We can't let you leave completely empty handed." Piper says handing Prue a card.
"What is this?" Prue asks.
Phoebe says "Well, it seems like Andy really reconnected with our friend Justin. He's inviting all of us to his big annual family barbecue."
Piper says "Sounds like fun."
Prue says "For who? I mean, you know, hanging around with a friend's family all day? People we don't even know, can you say awkward?"
Phoebe says "Is that all?"
Prue looks at Phoebe and says "Yeah, what do you mean?"
Phoebe says "I mean, are you sure it's not because it's a family that actually takes the time to keep up with each other?"
Prue says "Okay, if you're gonna go with the 'Prue's got parental issues' card, let me save you some time."
Piper says "Well, 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. Especially if you're going to be having a baby soonish."
Prue says "Look, I go see Andy's family sometimes and it doesn't bother me. The only thing bothering me right now other than my always nauseous stomach 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 and if I can't get to him I'll go to Michael." Prue walks off humming the song.
Street
An ice-cream truck is driving down the street playing the same tune Prue was humming. It stops in an alley and a boy walks up to the window.
Ice Cream Man is unseen because of the fog in the window and he says "Would you like some ice cream, little one?"
The little boy says "Yeah."
The ice cream man shows his face. "You didn't say, 'please'." the ice cream man says. The boy gets sucked into the truck and screams on his way in.
Another alley
Michael, Zeke and Rosaline are walking down an alley talking. "So why can't you orb?" Michael asks her.
"Apparently because my power of ice has kicked in so I guess they took the orbing away." Rosaline says.
"Well, you need to learn how to control it so you can fight with it." Michael says as they come to a stop in the alley.
"But how?" Rosaline asks.
Michael doesn't say anything except throw an energy ball at her and ice comes out of her hands and freezes it.
"Ah!" Michael, Zeke and Rosaline hear down the street and they run to see what happened and they see a truck.
"Mikey, it's just a truck, let's go." Zeke says trying to pull him away as the tune plays. "Mikey."
"Michael." Rosaline says trying to get his attention and he walks towards the truck "No." she says, trying desperately to orb.
"Would you kid's like some ice cream?" The ice cream man says.
The man watched the kids as they suddenly disappeared in white orbs and he looks shocked. He says to himself "I thought it only attracted demonic kids."
Opening Credits
Manor: Prue's room
Prue is asleep in her bed. It seems she is having a nightmare. In her nightmare you see a snowy playground. A child screams and yells "help me". The little girl runs through the playground over to her father. Prue's alarm wakes her up. It reads 7:00am.
Andy comes out of the bathroom after taking a shower and looks at Prue in concern. "Prue?" he calls but doesn't get a response. "Prue?" he repeats more urgently. Prue glances over at him. "You okay?" Andy asks. He walks over and sits down next to Prue on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, nightmare," Prue admits. She swipes a hand roughly through her hair.
Andy frowns and places a hand against her forehead. "You're burning up."
"I'm fine," Prue insists. "I'm just going to go take a shower," she says while getting out of the bed. She leaves into the bathroom and Andy watches her.
Later That morning on the Porch
The door opens and Prue walks out. She picks up the newspaper. She looks around and hears a tune. She turns around and walks inside and she closes her eyes to check on Michael.
Kitchen
Phoebe is there looking at some information on Cole on the laptop "Come on, Cole. Talk to me." Phoebe says.
Prue walks in and says "Morning, sunshine." But Phoebe ignores her "Okay, how about, uh, cloudy with a chance of showers?"
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Phoebe asks her, eyes never leaving the screen.
Prue turns to her and says "Nothing pressing. You pull an all-nighter again?"
Phoebe says "Yeah, uh, subject matter's been elusive." Phoebe gets an Instant Message on her laptop.
Prue says "Caught by the bell. Who's the instant message from?"
Phoebe closes the laptop and says "Oh, it's nothing."
Prue sits down and says "Alright, well, nothing usually means something, and something usually means a boy, so..."
Piper walks in and says "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 looks around and says "Mmm hmm."
Prue says "Is that even a word, Piper?"
Piper says "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 'dad' Victor?" Phoebe asks.
Andy walks in and frowns. "What about 'Dad' Victor?"
Piper says "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?"
"He's here?" Andy repeats. He looks quickly toward Prue for her reaction.
"Possibly," Piper answers.
"Oh, wait. But Cara hasn't seen him since what?" Phoebe asks.
Piper says "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 says "Well, I for one am not going to go out of my way to find out."
Phoebe says "Wait, you're not even curious? Come on, Prue. I mean, he is our father and he'll be your daughter's grandfather."
Prue says "No. 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 mum and dad. Perhaps baby Trudeau here might some of that but it'll more likely be Andy's parents which will be allowed to claim grandparentship."
Piper says "Okay, so we're not the typical family, but he is all we have, Prue."
Prue says "No, Piper, we have Michael and 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 says "Okay."
Prue says "Okay." She runs up and kisses Andy. "Have a good day, 'kay? And be careful doing the night shift."
"Sure," Andy assures her.
Piper says "Hey, can I walk you out?"
Prue says "That would be so nice."
Prue and Piper leave the room. Phoebe opens the laptop back up and looks at Andy. "Why'd you go all silent during the parental conversation?" she asks.
"I've learned not to broach the topic with her," Andy says. "I have enough trouble getting her to meet up with my parents much less have a civil conversation about Victor." He looks after Prue and then turns back to Phoebe. "Who said we were having a daughter?" he questions.
"Sorry, Andy, there are only girls in this family," Phoebe replies. She pats him sympathetically on the shoulder before turning back to her computer.
"Mikey's not a girl." Andy mumbles under his breath
Michael's School
Michael is sitting in his class trying to pay attention but the song is stuck in the back of his mind. He leans towards Zeke and whispers "Ugh, why is this stupid song stuck in my head?"
"No talking." The history teacher, Ms. Grey says.
"Sorry." He mouths and she continues the lesson.
A building
Prue is stuck in a crowded elevator. She 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.
Bay Tech Building
Piper walks up to the receptionist's desk "Hi. I'm, uh... you don't really care who I am, do you? I mean, everybody else is on lunch break, and you're stuck here fielding random questions from people who probably shouldn't even be asking them in the first place, because..." Piper says.
The Receptionist interrupts her and says "Can I actually help you?"
Piper says "Yeah, right. Um, I'd like to know which company Victor Bennett is with."
The receptionist types something on the computer "He's not."
Piper says "Excuse me?"
The Receptionist says "Bennett comma Victor? He's not listed in any office in the building."
Piper pulls a picture out of her purse "I, uh, I have a picture. It's about from a decade ago but have you seen him around?" The receptionist shakes her head. "Are you sure? Because I know that..." A man walks out of the elevator. "Dad?" The man turns around. "It's, uh, it's not you." The man continues walking. "I'm sorry, I thought you were... I'm sorry."
Michael's school
Michael is sitting with his head in his arms trying to get the song out of his head. The teacher looks at him and says "Are you all right?"
"No, I need to get out of here." Michael says running out of the class room followed by Zeke.
"Mikey?!" Zeke yells as he is running after him and they join hands and flame out to the nearest sister.
The science teacher, Michael's other whitelighter, sees Michael and Zeke flame out and he orbs out seconds after that as the principle looks for the two kids.
An Alley
Michael and Zeke flame in and the ice cream truck is playing and Michael walks towards it.
Park
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 says "You're dodging. Artfully, but it's still a dodge."
Prue says "Right, did you ever consider that maybe I just don't wanna go?"
Phoebe says "It has nothing to do with the barbecue or Andy or even Justin. It has to do with dad."
Prue says "Why do you insist on pinning everything that I do on my feelings or lack thereof for our father?"
Phoebe says "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."
Prue says "It's sort of not the same thing."
Phoebe says "Maybe it is."
Prue says "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 Andy can't go hang out at the barbecue because you..."
"Okay, first of all, Andy can go if he wants. They can talk about sports or whatever more without me there anyway…" Prue says and stops upon hearing the tune. "There it is."
"What?" Phoebe asks.
Prue says "That song. Don't you hear it? Somebody's humming it." Prue runs over to a little girl 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.
Phoebe says "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." 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.
Prue says "It's cold out."
Phoebe says "Yeah, it's a little thing we like to call winter here."
Prue says "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 says "Okay, connect the dots for me, please?" Prue walks off. "Uh, preferably standing still." Phoebe follows her. "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."
Prue says "Yeah, well, something's wrong."
Phoebe says "Yeah, I know that. Why don't you talk to me about it?"
Prue says "Not with me, Phoebe, with this, alright? I have a total déjà vu coming on."
Phoebe says "Okay, so first you're humming weird songs, now you're having flashbacks?"
Ice cream truck parked in an alley
The girl walks up to the window "Hello?"
Michael walks up to the ice cream truck "Hey?"
Ice Cream Man says "Would you like some ice cream, little ones?"
Prue and Phoebe walk up to the truck. The girl starts to get sucked into the truck.
Prue says "Alright, I mean, it's usually that my instinct is pretty much..."
Prue runs forward and grabs Michael and Phoebe grabs the girl's legs and they pull them back out. The ice cream man pokes his head out the window. Prue, Phoebe, Michael, Zeke and the girl get sucked into the truck.
Commercial Break
Inside the ice cream truck
Prue, Michael, Zeke and Phoebe are there in the snowy playground.
Prue says "Uh, alright, where's the little girl?"
Michel shrugs and Phoebe says "I don't know. I was holding onto her and then..."
Prue says "We have to find her."
Phoebe says "Well, first we have to figure out where the hell we are."
Prue says "Well, I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say that we're not still in the ice cream truck."
Phoebe says "Or even worse, we are still in the ice cream truck."
They hear children in the distance "Guys, do you hear that?" Michael asks.
Phoebe nods and says "Prue..."
Prue says "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 and Michael tries to flame out but nothing happens
Prue says to Phoebe "No powers, no powers, no powers."
Phoebe says "I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised, I'm not surprised."
A hole opens up above them and the Ice Cream Man runs away. They hear more noises.
Phoebe says "Okay, something tells me he was not running from us."
Prue says "Okay, let's go." She grabs Michael's arm and Phoebe grabs Zeke's and they start to run off but a little boy (Ari) comes out of the bushes.
"Help! Please help me." The boy, Ari, says. They go over to him.
Prue says "Help you from what?"
Ari says "The Nothing."
Phoebe says "Is that the man that we just saw here?"
Ari says "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."
Prue, Michael, Zeke and Phoebe follow him in the bushes. They crouch down beside a tree. A girl comes out of the bushes nearby.
"Wait for me!" the little girl shouts
"Run!" Prue yells back to the little girl.
The little girl yells "Help!" The girl runs towards them but trips and falls over.
Prue says "She's not gonna make it." she runs towards her. The girl gets sucked up into the Nothing.
Phoebe runs behind Prue and grabs her "Prue, come on." Phoebe pulls Prue back into the bushes.
Prue says "She was right there."
"Prue, it's not your fault. Our powers don't work here, we know that now. We'll be better prepared next time." Phoebe assures her.
Ari, the boy, hears them and says "Does that mean that you're gonna save us?"
"Us?" Phoebe and Michael ask at the same time.
Ari says "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."
P3
Piper's has the phone to her ear and is leaving a message "Prue, it's me leaving you another message after leaving Phoebe another message after leaving Zeke another message. I tried you at work, but they said you never checked in after your shoot, so where are you guys?" Piper sees the same guy as before standing at the other end of the bar. "Uh, look, so call me before I have to resort to calling Andy, or better yet, just show up and save me from having to perform an impending awkward rejection all by myself."
She hangs up. The guy (Caleb) walks over to her "Hi, I'm Caleb." He holds out his hand
She shakes his hand "Piper." She greets.
Caleb says to her "I'm sort of new in town, and I'm looking to meet someone, someone special. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your phone call to your..."
"Fiancé." Piper lies "Very large, very jealous fiancé." She walks around behind the bar.
"Really? Does, does he ever come here?" Caleb asks.
"He-he, all the time." Piper says
"So he lives nearby?" Caleb asks
Piper says "Uh, look, I'm flattered and, you know, if this was another time or place, uh, maybe you'd like to meet my single sister."
Caleb says "You've got sisters? Really? Well, maybe we could, all, uh, get together sometime. Does your fiancé like to hang out with your sisters, too?"
Piper says "Okay, uh, you know what? I don't know what kind of kinky stuff you're into, but there's a club down the street you might be more comfortable in. They've got cages and rubber floors, and a three for two special on Fridays."
"I'm not looking for a club, Piper." He says.
Piper says "And I'm not interested, Caleb, at least, in what I think you're interested in. So, if you don't mind, I have lots of stacking and stuff to do."
Caleb says "I think you got the wrong... Okay, okay, I'm gonna come back later when you're not, uh, stacking." Caleb walks away. Piper picks up the phone and dials a number.
Piper says "Prue, where are you guys?"
Inside the ice cream truck
"Are we going in circles?" Michael asks
"Yeah, this looks like the exact same playground." Phoebe says
Ari says "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 and Prue gasps "Why couldn't you get a boy-band song in your head like everybody else?" Phoebe asks.
Prue says "Alright, just tell us everything that you know about the mean Ice Cream Man."
Ari says "Just that he's the one that put us here."
"Alright, so is he in charge of the Nothing?" Prue asks.
Ari says "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."
Phoebe says "Well, we're gonna do whatever we can to get you out of here. So why don't you take us to your friends?"
Ari says "Through here." He walks off. Phoebe touches a swing and has a premonition
Premonition
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.
End of premonition
"What is it?" Prue asks
"Are you ok?" Zeke asks her.
Phoebe says "Yeah." She turns to Prue "I saw you when you were little, in this playground with Dad."
Manor
Piper is in her room "Leo!" She closes her eyes. "Leo." Leo orbs in. She opens her eyes. "It's about time."
"Piper, I was busy." Leo says.
"Well, don't you have orb-waiting?" Piper asks.
Leo says "Look, it's not fair to my other clients if I keep getting calls from you while I'm at work."
Piper says "Look, I just have one teensy favor. Prue and Phoebe never came back from lunch, Mikey and Zeke never came home from school, and they haven't been returning any of my phone calls. And Andy hasn't heard from them. And I know I'm probably just being paranoid, but can't you do that check-the-supernatural-radar thing that you do?"
"I'm sure it's fine. They're just..." Leo begins but Piper gives him a look. Leo closes his eyes and concentrates.
"Leo?" Piper asks. He opens his eyes. "Not good?" Piper says.
Leo says "I can't sense them anywhere. It's like they just..."
Piper says "Disappeared."
Inside the ice cream truck
Kids are standing in front of Prue, Michael, Zeke and Phoebe.
Prue says "Alright, is that all of you?"
"All that's left," Ari says.
The girl looks at them and asks "Are you gonna save us?"
"We're trying." Michael says.
Prue says "Alright, I think the only way out of here is to go through the person that..." Prue sees the ice cream man standing nearby. "Put us here in the first place."
"The Ice Cream Man? But how are we supposed to find him?" Phoebe asks.
Prue says "Something tells me that's not gonna be very hard."
"Why not?" Phoebe asks.
Prue says "Oh, because he's right over there." She points to him everyone turns around and sees him and the ice cream man runs away. "Okay, you kids stay here with Michael. We'll take care of the good humor man. Let's go."
Michael looks at the kids Mikey. He hears in his head. "Piper?" He wonders aloud.
Michael wasn't paying attention to the kids talking and the girl says to him "Hey."
"Hi?" Michael and Zeke say together.
Prue and Phoebe run after the ice cream man "There he is, by the slide."
Prue says "Alright, oh, hey, wait. Look at that." They see a hole behind a slide. "What does that look like to you?" she asks.
"The street from the back of the truck." Phoebe says aloud.
Prue says "That's right. The way out. Okay, all that we need now are the, uh..."
Michael, Zeke and the kids come up to them "Hey, we were just coming to get you. Come on, we're going home." Phoebe says.
Prue says "Come on, come on, come on." A girl goes up the slide and jumps out of the truck. "One down." A boy jumps outside. "That's another one." Michael and Zeke jump outside.
The ice cream man sees them "No!"
"Ooh, hurry! Get!" Prue says.
Ari jumps outside.
Phoebe goes in front of Prue and says "I'm going next."
Prue says "Okay, but go."
Ice Cream Man says "Get away from the door!"
Phoebe jumps out followed by Prue
Outside
Everyone moves away from the truck except Ari "Ari, come on, hurry up."
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 my," Michael says.
"Oh." Prue flowed Michael's response
"Oh, my God." Phoebe says.
Ari says "Actually," his voice turns into a deep and demonic voice "quite the opposite."
Prue says "Okay, we need to keep him away from the other kids."
Ari says "I don't think they'll listen to you. You're not the boss of them."
"Did you do it?" The demon girl asks.
Ari nods "Say thank you to the witches."
The Demon Boy and Girl say at the same time "Thank you."
They laugh and run off "This is not funny." Michael yells after them.
Commercial Break
Manor: Living room
Piper and Leo are sitting on the couch "Why don't we try focusing on the positive? They're together."
"That's it? That's your positive?" Piper asks. "Because I've got a list a mile long in the negative column. They've been gone all night, Leo, and not even you can find them."
"Can't you search for them again?" Andy snaps as he paces around the room.
Leo says "I'm sure they're fine. They can take care of themselves."
Andy glares at him. "If it was Piper missing, you wouldn't be sitting here doing nothing."
Piper stands up and moves between them. "Okay, that's not helping," she scolds.
Leo says "Look, any minute now they are gonna walk through that door with a perfectly good explanation."
Prue, Michael, Zeke and Phoebe walk through the front door.
"Piper!" Prue yells as she walks into the house.
Piper looks at Leo. He looks stunned. "See?"
Piper says "Prue? Phoebe?" Piper goes over and hugs them. Michael takes his jacket off and he walks over to the group hug "Mikey." Piper says pulling him into the hug.
Prue walks away from the hug and toward Andy. "What are you doing home so early?" she asks.
"Waiting for you to come in." Andy says and hugs Prue. "You okay?"
"Where..." Piper starts.
"Have we been?" Michael asks finishing her sentence
Phoebe continues with the sentence "Oh, I would like to know the same thing."
Prue says "All that we know is that we have to go back."
"Go back where?" Andy asks suspiciously.
Piper says "Wait a minute, is this demon or sibling-related?"
Phoebe says "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.
Prue says "How about we fill in the blanks as we climb the stairs to that big book in the attic?"
Phoebe says "Good idea." They go upstairs.
Attic
Prue, Phoebe and Michael are flipping through the Book of Shadows.
Piper is walking around "So, he's a demonic dog catcher, and he uses ice cream as bait? Great news for the lactose intolerant demons."
"Well, whatever works," Andy offers.
Prue says "Nothing in here on the demon kids who escaped."
"That we helped escape." Phoebe corrects
Prue says "But there's a whole page dedicated to the Ice Cream Man."
"What?" Piper asks.
"He is mortal." Prue says
Phoebe says "What? Do you remember when demons look like demons and innocents look like innocents? Who changed the rules on us?"
"Wait, if he's mortal, how does he do it?" Piper asks
Leo says "It's not him."
"It's the song." Michael realizes suddenly.
Prue keeps looking in the book and says "Right. 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 says "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. We need to keep Michael away from the truck."
Piper says "So they might be pint-sized, but they're bad asses."
"Alright, but if they couldn't get out on their own, how did you guys?" Leo asks.
Prue says "Because he let us out. He tried to save us."
"He must have realized that you guys weren't supposed to be inside," Andy says.
Phoebe looks in the book and says "And that is all she wrote, literally. Uh, the Nothing doesn't discriminate. Good or evil, tastes the same."
Piper says "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."
Prue says "Right, and our powers don't play, not in this situation. I mean, Pheebs and I tried everything to get back in, but the door wouldn't budge."
Phoebe says "Well, not everything."
Piper says "Hmm? Mind sharing with the room?"
Prue says "Phoebe had a premonition of me."
"And Dad in the playground," Phoebe adds on.
"You were there? How?" Piper asks.
"When?" Andy demands.
"Only one way to find out," Phoebe says.
Prue says "Right, but we don't even know where he is, never have, not even now, when he might actually come in handy."
"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." Phoebe explains
"Phoebe, this is..." Piper begins
Phoebe interrupts and says "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?" Piper asks as Phoebe gets out her laptop.
Sidewalk
The demon boy stands there staring a burnt body beside a bush. An ice cream truck is parked on the side of the road. Ari and the demon girl walks up to him.
"Whatcha doing?" Ari asks.
Demon Boy says "Killing."
Ari says "No kidding. Did anybody see you?"
Demon Girl says "Thought I was supposed to kill. Was it fun?"
Demon Boy says "He screamed a lot."
Demon Girl says "Cool."
Demon Boy says "So what do we do now?"
Ari says "Well, I guess we waste even more time while we pick up after you."
Demon Boy says "But you said all we have to do is find the truck..."
Ari says "Not any truck, the truck. I already got rid of the Ice Cream Man, remember? The only people we might have to kill to get to the right truck are those witches."
Demon Boy says "But..."
Ari walks over to the truck "And if you would've paid attention, you would've known that. And you also would've known..." Ari opens the back door of the truck. "That this isn't the right truck. Now, I like killing just as much as the next demon, but right now we gotta be smart. And trashing every regular old ice cream truck that we see is not smart."
Demon Girl says "But it's fun."
Ari says "And we'll have lots more fun when this is all over."
Demon Girl says "Promise?"
Ari says "Yeah, but first do you think you can clean up this mess?"
Demon Girl says "I was waiting for you to say that." She blows towards the body and it disappears. "Done."
Manor
Michael and Zeke are standing by the book "Nothing." Michael says slamming the book shut "There is absolutely nothing in here on the demon kids that…" The book suddenly flips open to a page "We saw today." He finishes, staring at the book.
"The spell to call a lost witch?" Zeke asks
Michael didn't know why but he began to chant the spell "'Powers of the demons rise course unseen across the skies come to us who call you near come to us and settle here.'" Michael expected the demon kids to appear in the attic but to his surprise he was engulfed in white orbs "Oh, Zeke…" Michael says grabbing Zeke's hand and both of them disappear in white swirls of orbs.
P3
Prue, Andy, and Phoebe are sitting at the bar. Piper is standing behind it serving them a drink (Prue a water).
Piper says "Welcome to Club Switzerland."
Prue 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."
"Or crackers?" Piper jokes as she watches Prue eat a few more saltines to settle her stomach. Prue just glares in her direction.
Phoebe says "He's our father, Prue. This is family."
Prue says "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 says "And then send him packing."
Andy rolls his eyes, exasperated. "Let's just keep this civil," he suggests with a warning look at Phoebe. He takes Prue's hand and gives it a light squeeze.
Caleb approaches the bar "These must be the sisters I've heard so much about."
Piper says "Caleb, uh..."
Caleb says "And to think I almost didn't swing by today."
Piper says "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 says "Oh, okay, when would be a good time?"
Piper looks to Leo and says "Help me."
Leo says to Caleb "You got a phone call, it's in the office. Why don't I show you where that is."
Caleb says "Uh, okay, do you mind if I ask you something?" and Leo and Caleb walk away.
Piper says "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?"
Phoebe gets up and hugs him "It's good to see you, daddy."
Victor says "Oh, baby, you have no idea. Wow, what a place. This is yours, Piper? It's terrific. The three of you together. And Andrew, it's been awhile."
"It has, Mr. Bennett," Andy agrees neutrally and shakes Victor's hand.
"I hardly know where to begin but I did hear that some congratulations was in order," Victor admits. He looks at Prue pointedly.
Prue ignores him and says instead "Well, I have a suggestion. How about we just cut to the chase?"
Piper says "Uh, Prue, he just got here. Can't that wait, like, five minutes?"
Prue says "He's a businessman, Piper. I would think that he would appreciate that."
"Prue…" Andy warns under his breath.
"We can do the whole family-bonding thing once the work is done, alright?" Prue amends. "So, how about you just tell us everything that you know about the playground?"
Victor says "What playground?"
Phoebe says "Dad, I had a premonition. I know you were there."
Piper says "And somebody's hurt, so we need to get back inside."
Victor says "Oh, let it go."
Prue says "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."
Victor says "Yeah, but you're still my girls."
"Victor." Prue says
"Prue," Victor says right back to her and then there is silence.
"Civil, you two. I don't want her stressed out," Andy insists.
"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 mum had some errands to run, so she took your sisters with her and left me home in charge of you."
Flashback
Six-year-old Prue's room
She is asleep in bed Victor pulls up the blankets and kisses her on the forehead.
Victor says "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."
Little Prue goes downstairs into the living room.
Victor says "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."
End of flash back
Prue says "The song."
Victor says "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 says "Yeah. He was standing by the truck, and something pulled him in. He was so scared."
Victor says "And you ran out to help him."
Phoebe says "Just like yesterday."
Victor says "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."
Piper says "You saved Prue."
Victor says "But I lost the three of you."
Phoebe says "You said that you left because Grams wanted us to use our powers and you didn't."
Victor says "That's the truth. And now you know the whole story. I mean, when your grandmother 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?"
Phoebe says "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?"
Piper says "So, what do you say, dad? We need your help."
Prue opens her mouth to argue and looks pointedly at Andy but he gives her a look that silences her. She sighs in reluctant agreement.
Street
Michael and Zeke appear in a swirl of white orbs as the demon kids just look at the two teens become corporeal.
"You again," Ari says walking up to him and grabbing his hand "You should have stayed away."
"Ari don't," The demon girl says to him releasing him from Michael's hands "He's the cute one."
"Oh my," Michael says as the other demon boy throws fire at him and Zeke and he flames out in midair with Zeke.
On the same street but farther down Prue, Andy, and Piper are walking with Phoebe and Victor walking behind them.
Prue says "You know if this doesn't work I can look back and pinpoint the exact moment where it all went wrong."
Piper says "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 says "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. Not to mention, Andy could just as easily open the stupid door."
Piper says "Glad to see you have a healthy handle on the situation, Prue."
Prue says "I think I do."
Andy interrupts in the hopes to distract Prue from the Victor topic. "Hey, baby, any tips to handle the miniature demons?" he asks.
Phoebe and Victor are talking. "So, yeah, I was surprised to hear from you, but why did you think I wouldn't write you back?" Phoebe says.
Victor says "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..."
Phoebe says "I never thought you left by choice, dad."
Victor says "Thank you, Phoebe."
They walk into an alley "Okay, well, this is it." Prue asks.
Piper looks around and says "Uh, but there's nothing here."
"Wait, we lost the truck?" Phoebe asks.
They all hear a yell and a scream as Michael and Zeke flame in hitting the sign on the brick wall. Michael and Zeke stand up and Michael says telepathically. Behind you,
"Uh, Prue," Andy whispered, nervously fingering his gun out of habit.
The demon kids stand behind them.
"Yeah, but we gained company." Prue says answering Phoebe's question and turning around at the same time.
The demon girl blows them away but Michael only stumbles backwards and the demon kids laugh.
Prue says "Oh, those kids so need to be grounded." The kids run off. "Oh, I don't get it. Alright, why pick a fight and then run?"
"Hey!" Michael yells to the kids "Come back and fight like a demon." He says making an energy ball and throwing it towards the kids.
Piper says "Speaking of running, we should run because they're getting away."
Prue says "No, we can't do that because we have to get back into the truck."
Phoebe grabs Michael hands and says "Not all of us. Come on, guys." Phoebe, Michael, Zeke and Piper run off.
Victor says "Nice work."
Andy glares at him. "Watch it," he warns.
Prue says "Alright, lost modes of transport are definitely not my forte. So..."
Victor says "Prue, sometimes things in life happen for a reason, no magic involved. Truck's been towed."
They see a No Parking/Tow Away sign.
Prue says "Right."
"The nearest tow yard is a couple miles down the street," Andy states.
Ari watches them from nearby.
Junk yard
Victor, Andy, and Prue are there removing a chain from the gate "Need a hand?" Victor asks.
Prue says "No, I don't need a hand, I don't need anything."
"I've got it," Andy insists, helping with the chain.
They walk over to 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. She uses her power but still doesn't open. "Ugh! Alright, let's just do this. You can do it, right?"
Victor says "Well, let's just say that chasing demons is not exactly my day job."
Prue says "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." He says.
"Just doing my job," Prue informs him.
"I'll keep watch in case one of the mini demons get by your sisters," Andy offers.
"Andy…" Prue disagrees.
Andy pecks her on the lips. "It'll be fine. Go save the innocent," he orders and pushes her lightly to the truck.
"I'd rather he keep guard," Prue mumbles under her breath. Prue and Victor go inside the truck. "This would be a lot easier if things stopped moving. We left him right here. Unless..."
Victor says "The Nothing. Even mortals have memories, Prue. 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 says "Yeah, well, at least we agree upon one thing."
Ice Cream Man says "Make that two and get out while you still can." The ice cream man is sitting nearby.
Prue sees him and says "Oh, my God. I am so sorry. I didn't know."
Ice Cream Man says "The mistake was mine. I saw that boy with the Charmed Ones, you were saving innocents. How could you know they weren't?"
Prue says "Well Mikey didn't exactly know about them. How did you know?" She asks
Ice Cream Man says "Let's just say we both have friends in high places. The moment I mistakenly pulled you and your sister in and the demon teenagers, I was alerted and sent to save you."
"And you get this in return." Prue guesses
"It's getting closer." Victor warns
Prue says "Alright, so you got us out of here once, now it's my turn."
"No heavy-lifting Prue," Victor orders. He helps the ice cream man stand up.
Ice Cream Man says "The children, you must get them back inside the playground."
"We will, and you're gonna help us do it." She informs him while also sending Victor a glare.
Ice Cream Man says "I disabled the truck. You'll need to fix it, play the song."
Prue says "Don't you dare. You stay with us."
Ice Cream Man says "Inside..." Prue pulls a small glass tube out of his shirt pocket. "It's for the truck."
Prue says "It's almost here. You go first, okay?"
Ice Cream Man says "I can replaced, you can't."
"No!" Prue yells as the ice cream man pushes them away and the Nothing sucks him up.
Victor says "Prue, it'll be back. We've gotta get out now! You didn't fail. The only way you fail is if you don't get back and do what he asked. Come on."
Commercial Break
Side walk
It is night and Phoebe, Piper, Michael, Zeke and Rosaline are standing behind a bush
"Why don't they ever run into a well-lit room with nowhere to hide?" Piper asks.
Phoebe says "Well, we know they're somewhere, and I know what's gonna give them away."
Piper says "How could you..."
"Shh!" Phoebe and Rosaline say at the same time.
"Mikey hurry." Zeke says
"Give me a sec." Michael says closing his eyes and concentrating.
The girls and Zeke see the demon kids nearby.
"How badly did you wanna get off that playground? And now we're free. Don't you wanna stay free?" Ari asks.
Piper says "Why do I get the feeling these kids weren't looking to pick a fight with the Charmed Ones? They were just looking for the truck and we crashed their party."
"Shh," Michael says.
Phoebe says "But we're like a mile ahead. I mean, we know where it is."
It's in the junkyard. Michael hears Ari say. "Not for long we don't." Michael informs them.
"Oh. Did I say a mile?" Phoebe asks and Rosaline nods her head.
Piper says "Okay, so they know, but it's six of us versus three of them. We're more than even, and bigger."
More demon kids walk up to Ari and the other two.
Phoebe sees them and says "Uh, sis, I think you need to count again. When in doubt..."
Piper says finishing her younger sisters sentence "Bring reinforcements."
All's that left for us to do is destroy the truck. Ari says and Michael hears it. "Guys." Michael says getting the sisters attention.
Piper, knowing exactly what he heard says "Prue."
Phoebe says "And dad. Let's go."
The junk yard
Phoebe, Rosaline, Michael, Zeke and Piper walk in
"Do you think they're here already?" Piper asks them.
Phoebe says "Probably."
"Do you think they know that we're here already?" Piper asks a second time.
"Yeah obviously…" Michael begins but is cut off by hearing laughter
The kids laugh in the background.
"Okay, do they do that because they think it's funny, or just to freak us out?" Piper asks.
"Piper, Phoebe, Mikey!" Andy calls and the group joins him nearby the ice cream truck. "Prue and Victor are inside now."
Phoebe says "Good, all we have to do is hold off the demons until dad and Prue get out."
"You haven't by any chance had a premonition that this is all going to turn out okay and you've just neglected to inform your kin?" Piper asks.
A demon kid scratches their fingernails along a car "Ow." Michael and Rosaline say plugging their ears.
Andy narrows his eyes calculatingly. "How many of them are there?" he asks.
"Six?" Phoebe guesses and shrugs. "Okay, I think they're surrounding us."
Piper says "No, don't say that. We're not surrounded until they're all around of us."
Phoebe says "Okay, how bad could the odds be? I mean, sure there's a whole bunch of them, but we're witches, right? Andy has a gun and you have the power to..." A demon kid hits Piper over the head with a car part knocking her unconscious. "Piper! Are you okay?"
"Piper!" Michael yells.
"Everyone focus," Andy orders. He picked up Piper and moves her safely out of the way. He instinctively checks for a pulse and sighs in relief.
Phoebe looks around "Alright, you little brats. Bring it on." She says.
Back in the truck
Prue says "Head for the slide. Up at the top, that's our way out." Prue starts to get sucked up by the Nothing. "Aah! Daddy!"
"Hold on, Prue!" Victor says grabbing Prue's arms.
Prue says "Daddy, I need you."
Victor says "I've got you. I'm not leaving without you."
"Dad!" She yells
Victor says "I've got you. Oh, God." He pulls her in.
The junk yard
The kids surround Phoebe, Michael, Rosaline, Andy and Zeke. A demon boy jumps on Phoebe's back and she throws him into the other kids, knocking them to the ground. The demon girl blows Phoebe away. They laugh and walk over to her. Michael throws an energy ball at them only for it to have no affect except send them flying. Two demon boys attempted to jump Andy and the unconscious Piper. Andy tossed one into the other long enough for Prue and Victor to get out of the truck. Prue waves her arm, using her power on the kids.
"Not my husband and sister," Prue snaps before looking to Victor "Alright, any ideas what to do with this?" Prue hands him the glass tube.
Victor says "Eight years of fixing your mother's car has given me one."
Prue says "Alright, we'll buy you some time." Prue helps Phoebe up while looking at Andy. "Is she okay?" she asks with a nod to Piper.
"Her head's going to hurt tomorrow," Andy offers.
Phoebe says "Oh! Oh, they're coming back."
The girl stands up "Oh, you need a little time out, missy!" Prue says waving her arm once more on the demon girl, sending her flying.
The second demon boy looks at Michael as the demon girls gets up. She holds in her breath holding her hand in front of her face and blowing sending Michael soring backwards knocking him to the ground. The boy starts to aim his arm. "Not my boyfriend you jerk faces." Rosaline yells stepping between Michael and the boy.
The boy throw fire at the same time Rosaline throws ice at the boy and the two battle for a while.
Andy knocks a demon boy down that tried to come up behind Prue as she was helping Phoebe.
Victor opens up the bonnet of the truck and looks for a place to put the glass tube. A flame flies out of the demon boy's other hand heading for Prue and Phoebe. They jump behind a car. "Oh, dad, hurry!" Prue yells.
"Prue, this way," Andy calls, noticing Ari walking toward Victor.
Ari walks up to Victor "No!" Michael yells throwing an energy ball at Ari sending him away from Victor as Prue comes up to them. Prue and Victor look at each other. Victor puts the tube in its place.
The music starts playing and the kids and Michael walk over to the truck. "No!" Prue yells waving her arm sending Michael away from the truck as the other kids get sucked into the truck.
Piper regains consciousness and Phoebe goes over to her "Welcome to our world, dad."
Piper says "When I decide I wanna have kids, you remind me of this day."
"I think we handled the kids well," Andy jokes, nudging Prue pointedly.
"Not now, Andy," Prue groans with a nervous glance to see if Victor heard.
Leo and Caleb walk in the junk yard. "Leo, what are you doing here? Why did you bring him here?" Piper asks.
Leo says "He's supposed to be here, Piper."
Caleb says "You fixed my wheels. Thanks."
Leo says "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."
Piper says "So your interest in me..."
Caleb says "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."
Leo says "Good luck."
Caleb gets in the truck
Phoebe says "Something tells me I'm never gonna look at a Creamsicle quite the same way."
"Hmm." was Prue's response. She giggled as Andy whispered something in her ear.
Manor: Foyer
Victor's ready to leave "Well, I guess this is goodbye again."
Phoebe hugs him "Thanks, dad. Keep writing."
Victor says to her "You don't have to keep secrets anymore, Phoebe."
Phoebe says "I know."
Victor says "I mean anything." He kisses her forehead. He walks over to Piper and hugs her. "What's the story with this Leo character anyway? How much does he know about you?"
Piper says "Uh, just about everything."
Victor says "Oh, so he's..."
Piper says "He's a wonderful man, yes."
Victor says "Well, still I think I should have a little chat with him sometime."
Piper says "Dad..."
Victor says "It's a father's prerogative."
He walks over to Prue "I'm not saying good bye." She says.
Piper and Phoebe say "Prue!"
Prue says "I'm saying see you soon, dad." She hugs him.
Victor says "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 four of us, I'd like to accept their offer. I also wouldn't mind seeing the little one in several months time…"
Piper says "Hmm."
Victor says "Could I accept that as a yes?"
Prue says "Yes."
A horn honks outside "That's my cab. Alright," he grabs his stuff "we've got so much catching up to do."
Piper says "It's okay. It's different now."
Victor says "It is, isn't it? See you soon." He glances at Prue. "Behave with that husband of yours," he jokes and leaves.
An old alley behind an old building
Michael, Zeke and Rosaline flame in where there are a dozen demons. "Well, I see you have found me." The demon says forming an energy ball.
"That I did." Michael says throwing a potion at the demon but he throws his energy ball and it hits the potion. "Darn it." He joins hands with Rosaline and Zeke prepared to flame them out if anything were to happen.
"I will kill you and finally have enough power to vanquish the source and take his place." The demon says forming a fireball. "Say good bye. Ah!" He yells and is engulfed in flames as an energy ball hits him from behind and the other demons flame and shimmer out.
"Cole." Michael says recognizing the guy standing over him. "Why? How?"
"I couldn't let anything happen to you especially since you got the source to stop sending bounty hunters after me." Cole says. "I got to go take care, Buddy." He shimmers out.
