Act 1[]
(Outside, the sun is about to set as a small flock of bats fly off from the tree they were hanging from.)
Keesha: And Keesha said: "Let there be night."
(Almost as if on cue, the sun sets and night falls. Liz puts a hand up to a non-existant ear until she notices a recorder next to her.)
Carlos: And I say, "Let there be Ms. Frizzle." Where is she anyway?
Tim: Yeah! Our parents will be here any minute.
Phoebe: Oh, I hope they like our display on nocturnal animals. Animals that come out at night are my personal favorites.
Arnold: I don't know about you guys, but parent-teacher conferences make me nervous.
(Ralphie taps Arnold's shoulder off-screen. The camera cuts to Ralphie wearing a vampire mask.)
Ralphie: *In a vampiric-sounding voice* I vant to suck your blood!
(Arnold yelps in surprise and falls to the floor, effectively fainting)
Ralphie: *speaking normally* Chill out Arnold. It's just me: your ordinary creature of the night.
Keesha: Knock it off Ralphie, there are no vampires. They only exist in your imagination.
Ralphie: That's what you think. Bats are just vampires in disguise.
(Keesha just rolls her eyes at that supposed fact as Arnold gets back up)
Carlos: Come on guys, Ms. Frizzle wants us to set up the attic too.
(Carlos pulls on a red rope with a tassle, which brings down the stairs to the attic. The students make their way up as Ralphie, bringing up the rear, is reading a vampire-themed comic aloud.)
Ralphie: "The vampire looked around the room of half-humans-half-bats and said, *going back to a vampiric accent* 'Attention my beloved children! At last, the moment I've been waiting for is here! Ahahah!" *he lets out a gulp as he completes the flight of stairs*
(Cut to the attic)
Wanda: Woah, it's dark up here.
Ralphie: Uh, heh, why don't I go get a flashlight?
Keesha: What's the matter Mr. Vampire Expert, afraid of the dark?
Ralphie: No, I'm not afraid. I just can't see, that's all.
Tim: Maybe you can't Ralphie. *He points up to a lone bat in the rafters.* But that can.
Dorothy Ann: Ooh, a bat! A real creature of the night.
(Liz gives a shush to the audience/the kids)
Carlos: Eugh, it sure is creepy.
Phoebe: I dunno, I think it's kinda cute.
Dorothy Ann: Creepy or cute, this is one animal of the night we know very little about.
Keesha: Maybe that's why we're afraid of them. We don't really know that much about them.
(The bat then takes flight as Liz zips away offscreen. The bat then begins to circle Ralphie, who frightenedly waves his rolled up comic book around like a newspaper as he yells.)
Keesha: Don't hurt it!
Ralphie: *hiding behind Keesha* D-Don't let it get me! I don't want to be turned into a-a vampire!
Keesha: Relax Ralphie! This is real life, not some made up story. That little bat has as much chance of being a vampire as-
(Before she could finish, a creaking noise is heard.)
Keesha: *gasps* What was that?
(various other students gasp in fear as well, specifically Carlos, Arnold, Wanda, Phoebe, and Tim. Then suddenly, a large caped figure swings down upside-down from the rafters, scaring them even further.)
All Students: YIKES!!!
(The cape opens up, revealing Ms. Frizzle in a bat-themed dress.)
All Students: Ms. Frizzle?!
(The Frizz flips down from the rafters.)
Ms. Frizzle: *in a vampiric accent* Good evening class. *normally as she points to the bat as it hangs back in the rafters.* Ah, I see you found my animal of the night. So dark of wing, and keen of craft, of all night flyers, the master's a bat.
Ralphie: *gulps* That's just the kind of thing a vampire would say.
(A thought bubble emerges from his mind, showing the Frizz as a legitimate vampire, giving an evil laugh. It quickly vanishes as soon as she does so, leaving Ralphie making his teeth chatter in fear.)
Keesha: Come on Ralphie, you've been reading too many comic books.
Ms. Frizzle: Ah come come, don't be afraid. Let me show you the secrets of being nocturnal.
(Ralphie slowly walks away, but stops after the Frizz finishes what she says next.)
Ms. Frizzle: When you are a creature of the night, you wear the color of night so you won't be seen by your enemies.
(Another thought bubble emerges from Ralphie. This time just showing the Frizz as herself.)
Ms. Frizzle: You stay hidden until the sun has set.
(The thought bubble enlarges as the Frizz continues and the cognitive Frizz sprouts a pair of bat wings.)
Ms. Frizzle: The darker the night, the safer the flight. And of course, being nocturnal, you feed only during the night.
(The Frizz in the thought bubble lets out a bat-like screech as she lunges towards the camera. The bubble poofs away before she goes far.)
Ralphie: Yikes!
Ms. Frizzle: Ralphie?
(Ralphie lets out a fearful gasp)
Ms. Frizzle: Is something wrong?
(Ralphie slowly backs away as the Frizz walks towards him)
Ralphie: *stuttering a bit* Wrong? No. Ah-heh, nothing. Heh, no.
(The sound of a car approaching can be heard offscreen)
Ms. Frizzle: Ah, the parents have arrived.
(The Frizz lifts up her cape in a dramatic fashion, having it act as a transition to cut to the school's parking lot. It shows the kids and their respective parents surrounding the Bus and the Frizz. Keesha and her grandmother walk up to the Frizz.)
Keesha: This is my grandmother, Ms. Frizzle.
Ms. Frizzle: Ah, how nice to finally meet you. Keesha has told me so much about you, I could just... eat you up.
Ralphie: *squeaking a bit* Did you hear that? *normally* Ms. Frizzle wants to eat Keesha's grandmother.
(Ralphie's mom, Dr. Tennelli, then places a hand on his shoulder.)
Dr. Tennelli: Ralphie dear, aren't we going to say hello to Ms. Frizzle?
Ralphie: *stammering a bit* Actually mom, I-uh... heh, she-uh... She's kinda busy right now.
Dr. Tennelli: Oh Ralphie, stop being a pain in the neck.
(Dr. Tennelli takes Ralphie's wrist as they walk to the Frizz, as he stretches his shirt collar a bit.)
Ralphie: You think I'M a pain in the neck? Just wait...
Ms. Frizzle: Ah, Dr. Tennelli, how good to see you again!
Dr. Tennelli: And you, Ms. Frizzle! Ralphie's been raving about your field trips.
(Ms. Frizzle drapes her cape over Ralphie for what she says next.)
Ms. Frizzle: Yes, well I do so enjoy taking him... under my wing.
Ralphie: *nervously chuckles* Um excuse me please...
(Ralphie quickly pulls away from the Frizz and runs back to the other students.)
Ralphie: You gotta believe me! The Frizz must be a vampire!
Phoebe: The Frizz can't be a vampire. She's our teacher.
Ralphie: Maybe during the day, but what about at night? Huh? Didn't she say, *imitating Ms. Frizzle* "The darker the night, the safer the flight."?
Dorothy Ann: She was talking about bats! If it's dark, they blend in, and their enemies can't see them. It says so right here in my book.
Ralphie: Vampires like the dark too, and night is when they strike. Which is exactly why Ms. Frizzle wanted our parents here after dark.
Keesha: Stop it Ralphie. Our parents are here at night because they are too busy during the day, and that's all!
Ms. Frizzle: Your attention please? Before we all visit the classroom, I thought for the Parents-Only portion of the evening, we might go somewhere more... suitable, more... breathtaking. *she gives a low chuckle as she drapes the cape over one shoulder.* Well come along, I won't bite.
Ralphie: *gulps* Now do you believe me?
Mr. Perlstein: Is this a field trip Ms. Frizzle?
(Shortly after asking, he and his wife enter the bus.)
Ms. Frizzle: It is indeed Mr. Perlstein. Arnold adores them.
(Mr. Terese comes along next, retracting his walking stick before walking on board)
Mr. Terese: At Phoebe's Old School, we never had field trips. This is gonna be fun!
(Keesha's grandmother comes next, but she has a question before boarding)
Mrs. Franklin: What about the children? Aren't they coming with us?
(Ms. Frizzle reassures her as she takes Mrs. Franklin under her cape as she comes on board with her.)
Ms. Frizzle: Don't you worry about the children Mrs. Franklin, they'll be taken care of.
Ralphie: Yikes! We're next!
(The Bus then revvs up and takes off from the parking lot.)
Tim: Wonder where Ms. Frizzle's taking them?
(Liz then shows up in a large, bat-themed motorcycle that can fit all the kids.)
Ralphie: I don't know, but we have to find out. Follow that bus!
Keesha: You've gone too far Ralphie! There is no reason for us to spy on their meeting!
Ralphie: Stay here if you want, Keesh. But how are you gonna feel if your grandmother starts sleeping in a box in the basement?
(A thought bubble appears displaying Ralphie's hypothetical, complete with Mrs. Franklin blowing out a candle before it vanishes.)
Keesha: That's ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! *she looks off to the side and sighs* But I guess there's no harm in making sure.
(Keesha then boards the bat-cycle behind Ralphie)
Ralphie: Hit it Liz!
(On cue, Liz revvs up the bat-cycle and takes off, tailing the bus by a few meters. Eventually the Bus stops at the foot of an old castle, with lightning flashing and several bats flying overhead. The Bus doors open, allowing the adults to exit.)
Ms. Frizzle: We're here!
(She leads the parents up the stairs to the double doored entrance of the castle.)
Ms. Frizzle: I bid you welcome.
(The Frizz opens a door, allowing a large swarm of bats to fly out. Most of the parents scream a little and duck, except for Mr. Terese)
Mr. Terese: Night flyers, we used to call them.
(The kids pop out of a nearby bush behind the parents, with Liz catching a mosquito with her tongue.)
Wanda: Why would Ms. Frizzle bring our parents to a place full of bats?
Dorothy Ann: *swatting away at some swarming mosquitoes* And mosquitoes?
Ralphie: Because she's a vampire, that's why? What more proof do you need?
Keesha: Ralphie, Ms. Frizzle CAN'T be a vampire, because VAMPIRES DON'T EXIST! I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this, and I'm going to find out what it is.
(Keesha leads the kids up to the door.)
Keesha: Well, go ahead Ralphie, open the door.
Ralphie: It was your idea.
Wanda: *walking up to the doors* Move aside you weasly wimps, I'll do it.
(Wanda tugs on the door knockers, but ends up yanking them out of place.)
Wanda: Now what?
Arnold: Okay, we can go back to school now.
Ralphie: No we can't, Arnold! We've got parents to save! Uh, come on! There's a window over there!
(The kids run over to the left for a bit before stopping.)
Keesha: Ugh, admit it Ralphie. This vampire thing is a bunch of junk. You're making it up!
(Ralphie peers into one of the windows before looking back at the others.)
Ralphie: *softly gasping* Oh yeah? Then explain why Ms. Frizzle is making our parents drink blood!
(Ms. Frizzle then holds a wine glass full of a red liquid)
Ms. Frizzle: To the creatures of the night. Long may we fly together!
(The adults in the castle, all holding a similar glass with a similar liquid give a small toast and drink. Multiple bats can be seen hanging overhead.)
Act 2[]
(Lightning flashes overhead as the kids watch the adults drinking from the window)
All Kids: Eeeew!
(They back away from the window)
Keesha: Hold it... They're not drinking blood, it's tomato juice that Ms. Frizzle served at the class picnic.
Ralphie: Oh yeah? The only way to stop a teacher vampire *snatches D.A.'s book* is to drive a textbook through her heart! Let's go!
Carlos: *offscreen* Get away, you bloodsuckers!
(Carlos is then seen swatting at some mosquitoes)
Ralphie: Vampires?
Carlos: No, mosquitoes!
(Liz jumps up and catches one of them before a swarm of bats comes flying down)
Ralphie: *gasp* More bats!
(Most of the students duck in cover with hands above their heads)
Arnold: We're gonna be eaten alive!
Phoebe: Wait a minute! Hey! The bats don't want to eat us, they want to eat the mosquitoes. Look!
Keesha: Which proves they aren't vampires!
Dorothy Ann: Right! And give me back my book!
(We then cut back to the adults as the Frizz guides them through the castle with a candelabra for light. Mr. Terese pats his free hand along the wall as they walk on.)
Mr. Terese: It's rough. Good place to hang from, if you've got claws. How dark is it in here?
Dr. Tennelli: Dark enough to sleep in, night or day.
Mr. Perlstein: *sniffs the air a bit* What is that smell?
Mr. Ramón: Bat poop, Mr. Perlstein. Get used to it.
Most of the adults: Eew!
Ms. Frizzle: Bat guano to be more exact, Mr. Ramón. It makes excellent fertilizer. Walk this way, please!
(The Frizz leads the adults to a turn in the hallway with more bats handing overhead)
Dr. Tennelli: It certainly is stuffy in here.
Ms. Frizzle: It's the breath of a billion bats, Dr. Tennelli.
Mr. Ramón: Well you know what they say, "'Bat' breath is better than no breath at all." *chuckles at his own joke*
Most of the adults: Mr. Ramón!
(The hall eventually comes to an end with a large family of bats along with some pink-ish baby bats)
Mrs. Franklin: Oh good, oh good! Little pink babies!
(The camera cuts to a zoom in of the baby bats drinking milk from their mother's breasts)
Ms. Frizzle: Ah yes. *She drapes the cape over her arm as dark shadows are cast thanks to the candelabra* The children of the night.
(The kids are seen running up to the outside of the window where the parents are.)
Phoebe: Oh, aren't those bat babies cute?
Keesha: See Ralphie? Bats are mammals, not vampires. Their babies drink milk, not blood.
Ralphie: Get down! The Frizz is coming!
(Ralphie grabs Keesha and pulls her down to duck along the others as the Frizz walks by. Keesha quickly gets back up to look through the window again.)
Keesha: I can look if I want to!
Ralphie: Cannot.
(Ralphie pulls her down again, only for Keesha to get back up.)
Keesha: Can so.
(Ralphie pulls her down yet again)
Ralphie: Cannot.
(Cut back to the adults, checking out the family of bats up above)
Mrs. Franklin: You know, I didn't know that bats take care of their young.
Ms. Frizzle: Oh, indeed they do Mrs. Franklin. Bats make excellent mothers. Even on a wall full of pups, they recognize the sound of their own.
Mrs. Franklin: Ooh, just like me. I'd know the sound of my Keesha anywhere.
(Back outside, Keesha and Ralphie are still arguing)
Keesha: Can so!
Ralphie: Cannot.
(Back inside, Mrs. Franklin overhears)
Mrs. Franklin: Keesha?
Ms. Frizzle: Hmm, no one out there. Only some juicy tidbits for the bats.
(Raphie overhears, but mistakes what the Frizz said)
Ralphie: Kidbits! she's talking about us! She's gonna feed us to the bats! We gotta get help!
(The rest of the kids follow Ralphie as he runs to where the vehicles were, save for Keesha)
Keesha: She said TID-bits not kidbits! *groans in frustration*
(Keesha follows the others as a bat snags a moth)
(We then transition to a shot from the top of the castle that pans down to the Bus, where the kids are "hiding")
Wanda: *inside the Bus* Ralphie, what are you trying to do?
(Cut to the Bus interior where Ralphie is fiddling with the dashboard)
Ralphie: Get us out of here before she turns us all into vampires!
(Ralphie then gulps as he spies a large button with a red bat in flight on it.)
Ralphie: Wonder what this does. *presses the button*
(The Bus sprouts a pair of bat wings while squashing and stretching up and down. Suddenly, it spins like a twister and flashes like a lightbulb about to go out. Once it stops, it reveals to have transformed into the Bat Bus and starts flying around on its own. The Bat Bus then flies upward to hang upside down from a ledge on the outside of the castle.)
Keesha: *offscreen, in the bus* Nice one, Ralphie. You turned the Bus into a bat.
(Cut to the kids inside, adjusting to the new angle, with Liz hanging onto a rail for dear life)
Arnold: And this, is turning into a field trip.
(The Bus then takes off and flies into the nearby forest on the castle grounds. All the while, it's bobbing and weaving through the trees while making a pinging sound.)
Arnold: Where are we going?
(Cut to the bus interior, where the kids are seeing nothing but blackness through the windshield. The only time they really see something is when the pinging is heard, when the trees directly in front of them are all colored white and getting closer with each ping.)
Phoebe: I don't know, it's too dark to tell.
Ralphie: Hey, is it just me, or does everything look really weird?
Wanda: Well what did you expect? The Bus is a bat, remember?
Arnold: What if we crash into something?
(The Bat Bus continues to keep pinging as it expertly flies between the gaps between the branches.)
Tim: Phew, that was close!
(A swarm of bats comes flying in the opposite direction of the Bat Bus)
Keesha: Look out. Look out!
Arnold: Bats! Bats everywhere!
(The Bat Bus moves slightly to let the bats fly on by without causing any trouble.)
Phoebe: They're making so much noise! I didn't hear that before the Bus turned into a bat.
Carlos: Awe-some! How does the Bus keep from bumping into stuff?
Keesha: It must be because it's a bat, that's how. The Bat Bus knows how to get around in the dark, like them.
Ralphie: But how?
(The vision of the Bat Bus then reveals that it'smaking its way back towards the castle.)
Keesha: I think it has something to do with that pinging sound.
Arnold: *covering his ears* I don't know about you guys, but that pinging is killing my ears! *slips on a pair of blue earmuffs and sighs in relief*
Wanda: I can tell you this... *sticks her head out the window to get a better view of the Bat Bus* Every time the bat opens its mouth, I hear a ping.
Tim: *sticks his head out the other side and points to the Bat Bus's ears* Yeah, and then its ears wiggle. I think it's listening to the echo of each ping.
(Cut back to the inside of the Bat Bus, where the castle tower is getting closer and closer with each ping.)
Ralphie: I hope the Bat Bus is listening now, or we're gonna crash!
(The Bat Bus then flies through a window in the tower and out through a hole in the other side.)
Keesha: Wow, that's it! When the sounds echo back, the Bat Bus knows somethings there and doesn't bump into it.
Dorothy Ann: That must be what the bats are doing.
Phoebe: When they make that funny sound.
(A thought bubble appears showing a castle tower, with sound waves coming and bouncing off of the tower.)
Dorothy Ann: They're using echos to locate things.
(The Bat Bus appears in the thought bubble, and performs the same action as before. Then it flies up close to the viewer.)
Phoebe: Echos to locate... echolocation! Bats don't need to see with their eyes, they can see with their ears!
(The Bat Bus closes its eyes before Phoebe finishes her thought, and the thought bubble puffs away once she's finished.)
Wanda: Weird, but cool! Bats use sound to get around.
(Cut to the waters surrounding the castle, with a flurry of moths flying around. The Bat Bus spots them overhead, and licks its "lips" before swooping down.)
(Cut once again to the Bat Bus interior, where they see the figures of moths close by.)
Wanda: Moths, dead ahead!
Arnold: Oh no, don't tell me that the Bus is hungry!
(The Bat Bus chases a few moths, eventually catching one by curling its hind legs to bring it up to its mouth to eat.)
Carlos: Ick! At least we know how bats grab a bite to eat.
(The Bat Bus tosses the caught moth into the air and bites down on the moth, starting to chew it up.)
Dorothy Ann: Ew!
Wanda: Yuck! Disgust-o!
(Cut to a normal bat doing a similar thing, minus the flare of the Bat Bus)
Keesha: And night is a good time for bats to eat, because they're experts at finding food in the dark! Not because they like to scare people, Ralphie.
(Cut to the Bus interior)
Ralphie: Yeah? Well we don't have time for midnight snacks! We have to get back to the castle!
Keesha: Come on Ralphie, admit it! Bats are cool. And if you were a night animal, you'd want to be one.
Ralphie: I would not! *pauses, as if he had a sudden epiphany* Or would I? A bat could get to the castle in the dark, find a way inside, and save his parents from Count Frizz-ula!
(Ralphie then eagerly goes up to the dashboard and rapidly presses the buttons)
Phoebe: Ralphie, what are you doing?
Ralphie: Winging this thing back to the castle!
(Ralphie then slams his fist on a small button with a blue humanoid-ish bat on it, glowing slightly a split second later. The Bat Bus then spins in a similar fashion to before. Only this time, after it's done spinning, it sharply inhales and spits out the students and Liz, who now have the bodies and ears of bats.)
All kids: Woah!!
(The kids all immediately start taking flight against the moonlight of the sky.)
Phoebe: *giggles* Yup, Ralphie. You sure know how to wing it.
Ralphie: This wasn't exactly what I had in mind.
(The kids continue to fly, but soon start experimenting their new bodies' capabilities)
Wanda: Hey! I love being a bat! Bet I could do zero-to-sixty in three seconds flat! *quickly darts offscreen to prove it*
Dorothy Ann: Watch me Tim! I can turn on a dime!
(D.A. flies up close to Tim, who is hanging upside down on a tree, only to turn away before she could run into him)
Carlos: It's not bad being a bat. *swoops down towards the water* You can catch a drink on the fly. *takes a swig of lake water before flying back up* And a fly on the drink.
(Carlos then spots a fly and catches it in his mouth before eating it.)
Carlos: Mmm... Not bad.
(Cut to a swarm of moths overhead, with Wanda and Keesha flying into it.)
Keesha: Or snag a moth on the wing, WITH your wings. *catches and eats a moth in flight*
(Transition to Arnold [who is still wearing earmuffs], Tim, and the Bat Bus hanging upside down from a tree, out in the moonlight)
Arnold: I wish I could turn off the moon, that light gives me the creeps.
Tim: Yeah, me too. Wonder why?
(Carlos then flies across the screen in a hurry.)
Carlos: Owl alert!!!
Arnold: Owl alert?
(A large owl can be seeing cawing and gearing up to snag either one of the three on the tree.)
Arnold: YIKES!!!
(Arnold, Tim, and the Bat Bus quickly fly down before the owl could snatch any of them. The owl then flies away while the others rejoin the group and hang upside down on a lower tree.)
Keesha: THAT'S why we avoid light. Our enemies can see us in it!
Phoebe: "The darker the night, the safer the flight"! Just like Ms. Frizzle said!
Ralphie: And she ought to know...
(A thought bubble appears, showing the Frizz sipping from a glass like before.)
Ralphie: She's the queen of the night!
(The thought transitions to a vision of the parents being turned into bats)
Ralphie: By now our parents could be...
(The thought bubble dissipates as Carlos starts agreeing with Ralphie)
Carlos: What if Ralphie's right? What if Ms. Frizzle IS a vampire?
Keesha: No way! It's not true! Ralphie's never right!
Ms. Frizzle: *offscreen* Attention parents of my dear beloved children!
Keesha: It's the Frizz!
Ms. Frizzle: *offscreen* At last, the moment I've been waiting for has come!
Ralphie: That's exactly what the vampire in my comic book said! *takes off towards the castle* To the castle!
(The rest of the students and the Bat Bus follow close behind, save for Keesha)
Wanda: Wait for me!
Keesha: I don't want to believe it, but... I'm beginning to!
(Keesha takes off and follows her classmates to the castle. They find a resting point on the bell in a high tower.)
Ms. Frizzle: *offscreen* Prepare yourselves, for your time has come.
(Sounds from the parents can be heard from down below.)
Phoebe: Something terrible is happening!
Ms. Frizzle: *offscreen* And who would like to be my first victim?
Ralphie: I told you she was a vampire!
Mrs. Franklin: *offscreen* Take me, Ms. Frizzle. Take me.
Keesha: *gasps* Grandma!
(Keesha quickly takes off to find the source of those noises with a determined and angry expression all over her face.)
Keesha: DON'T YOU DARE BITE MY GRANDMOTHER!!!
Act 3[]
(The camera opens up to some clouds floating by, some of which covering up the moon. It then pans down to the tower that the kids were seen last. When Wanda finishes her first sentence in the scene, it cuts to the interior where the kids are hanging from the bell.)
Wanda: The darker the night, the more I think Ralphie's right. The Frizz COULD be a vampire.
Carlos: Yeah! And I don't want my dad to have nose flaps.
Ralphie: Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!
(Ralphie then takes off and flies down a set of spiral stairs with the others flying down right behind him.)
Phoebe: It's really really dark down here.
Tim: Yeah. We'll never find Ms. Frizzle.
Ralphie: We're bats, guys. Remember? To find a location, use ECHO-location.
(Ralphie lets out a bat-like screech, with his ears wiggling to show it picked up on the echo.)
Ralphie: Follow me!
(Ralphie lets out more screeches as they fly along. Along the way, more bats can be seen hanging upside down along the walls of the stairs.)
Phoebe: More bats!
(The bats then take off and fly in the opposite direction of the kids)
Dorothy Ann: There must be millions and millions of them.
Ralphie: Yeah! Millions of parents turned into bats!
(Ralphie continues to give out bat-like screeches to navigate the hallways, eventually leading to a fork in the hallway.)
Ralphie: This way!
(They take a right turn down the hall. Cut to Arnold, who is still wearing earmuffs, falling a little behind.)
Arnold: Bat or no bat, I just don't like the dark. Wait for me guys!
(Arnold then bumps into a stone gargoyle and falls to the ground. Tim swoops down to help him up.)
Arnold: *rubbing his head* Wha- What happened.
Tim: You forgot. If a bat can't hear, it can't tell where it's going. Come on!
(Tim takes off Arnold's earmuffs and they both take off to catch up with the others. Cut to another room, in which Keesha and the others fly across to reach the adults.)
Keesha: Hold on Grandma!
Ralphie: I heard Keesha! Let's go!
Wanda: There she is!
(The kids and the Bus hang upside down at a doorway to try and overhear what they are saying.)
Keesha: They're in the next room. Listen.
Ms. Frizzle: *offscreen* So, what do you think of our field trip now?
Mrs. Franklin: *offscreen* I can't believe I let you do this to me.
(Keesha gasps in horror)
Dr. Tennelli: My neck will be sore for a week.
Ralphie: *gasps* That's my mom! Let's go!
(All of the kids, save Arnold, take off to see the next room for themselves)
Mr. Perlstein: *offscreen* Maybe we should've stayed home tonight.
Arnold: Dad, you took the words right out of my mouth!
(Arnold then follows the others in flight. Cut to the entry to the next room, with the kids just about to enter.)
Mr. Terese: *offscreen* But what about the kids, Ms. Frizzle?
(All the kids stop dead in their tracks and give a small, collective gasp. Cut to the adults all hanging upside down from a chandelier, wearing bat-like capes and sporting ears and noses like those of a bat.)
Mr. Terese: Are they going to suffer the same fate as us?
Ms. Frizzle: Of course. They're mine too, aren't they?
(All the adults chuckle a bit as the kids and the Bus hide above the stone doorframe.)
Phoebe: I love you anyway, daddy. I'll love you, forever.
Ralphie: We can't let the Frizz get away with this!
Wanda: *on the verge of tears* What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?
Ralphie: Make sure she never does this again!
(Ralphie jumps down and flies full steam ahead at Ms. Frizzle, with the kids close behind.)
Ralphie: CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE!
(Just as Ralphie was about to hit the Frizz, she pulls herself up to her ankles with the help of a candle suppore and lets out a sigh of relief.)
Ralphie: Huh?
Ms. Frizzle: Enough blood rushing to the head. Everyone down now. Time to go back to school to see the class project.
(She undoes the clamps around her ankles to get down.)
Mr. Ramón: Uh, do we have to? I could 'hang' around here for another hour! *chuckles at his own joke*
Mr. Wright and Mrs. Li: Mr. Ramón!
(Cut to Dr. Tennelli who is also undoing the clamps around her ankles and gets down)
Dr. Tennelli: That was incredible! I really felt like a bat!
Mr. Perlstein: Me too! I used to be afraid of bats, but not anymore.
(Mr. Perlstein does the same thing)
Ms. Frizzle: As I always say, "To be a bat, is to love a bat."
Mr. Terese: *chuckles a bit* It's no wonder Phoebe loves your field trips Ms. Frizzle. *He takes off the bat ears, which are revealed to be a headband* I'm so glad we transferred her from that other school.
Mrs. Franklin: *chuckes* As Keesha says, "They're simply magic!" (she whips off the ears and fake nose herself)
(The kids and Bus then do a U-turn)
Keesha: She doesn't know the half of it. Nice going, Ralphie.
(The adults spot the bat kids flying over them)
Mr. Ramón: More bats! They must be coming home from night school. *chuckles*
Dr. Tennelli: Is it just me, or do those bats look like our kids?
(Ralphie, who was flying fairly close to his mom, instantly darts away)
Ms. Frizzle: Oh, why so they do...
(Bat Liz then lands on the Frizz's shoulder as she puts the ears and noses in a green bag)
Ms. Frizzle: What a wonderful coinkydink. *she and Liz wink at each other*
(The Frizz giggles a bit as she pulls her cape over herself, which acts as a transition cut to the kids hanging upside down around a stone bat head on a section of the castle.)
Phoebe: How could you ever think that Ms. Frizzle was a vampire?
Keesha: I can't believe we listened to you!!
Ralphie: Hey! She looked like a vampire, moved like a vampire, and talked like a vampire. In any decent movie, she would have been a vampire!
Keesha: *mimmics a buzzer* EEEEH! Not good enough Ralphie! It was only your imagination!
Ralphie: *stammers a bit* I-I'm sorry. I was wrong about the Frizz. She's really a good teacher who just... *mimmicking a vampire* gets wrapped up in her work. (laughs a bit)
Phoebe: And you were wrong about bats, too.
Ralphie: Okay, they're not vampires. They're nocturnal animals that use echolocation to fly at night.
Keesha: And why do they come out at night?
Ralphie: They come out at night to feed, okay?
Keesha: And what do they feed on? Come on. Say it.
Ralphie: Okay okay okay! They feed on insects, not human blood. You happy now?
Carlos: Keesha may be happy, but the "bat" news is: we're still bats.
Phoebe: "Fangs" for reminding us, Carlos. *giggles a bit*
All the kids: Phoebe!! *laughs*
(The Bat Bus then emerges from the bell tower and lands on another stone bat head a few feet away. The doors open to reveal Liz in the driver seat, who promptly presses the bus's horn.)
All the kids: Yay Liz!
Ralphie: Let's go home.
(The kids then fly into the bus. It then flies back down to the ground, where it spins like a hurricane and turns back into the normal Magic School Bus after a few flashes. The bus doors open for the now normal kids to step out and meet back up with their parents, who are now stepping out of the doors of the castle.)
Mr. Perlstein: Hey, what do you know? It's our kids!
Mrs. Franklin: Keesha! What are you doing here? (embraces Keesha in a hug, as do most of the kids and their respective parents)
(Liz hops back onto Ms. Frizzle's shoulder, who both wink at each other. Ralphie and his mom are walking away with the former with an awkward smile on his face.)
Dr. Tennelli: Ralphie, I know that guilty look. What's going on?
Ralphie: Uh...heh... Nothing mom, really.
(The Frizz swoops by, slightly covering her face with her cape.)
Ms. Frizzle: Oh, I'm sure they were just... hanging around. *places a hand on Ralphie's shoulder* Right Ralphie.
Ralphie: Right Ms. Frizzle, and "bats" all. *he winks at the Frizz*
(Ralphie and the Frizz then laugh while Dr. Tennelli looks confused as an iris in takes effect. But before it completes, one last bat flies through it and give out a screech. Once it leaves the screen, the iris in completes, ending the episode.)
Producer Says[]
(The segment opens up to the outside of the castle the episode took place in late at night, and the sound of a cell phone can be heard.)
Male Producer: *In a vampiric accent* Good evening.
(The camera cuts to the inside of a hallway with multiple bats hanging from the walls and ceiling. The male producer, wearing a set of rubber boots, walks through it and looking around as the conversation continues.)
Caller: Uh, is this the Magic School Bus?
Male Producer: *In a vampiric accent* You found us. *chuckles a bit before talking normally.* We're just wrapping things up here at the castle. I'm the producer. How can I help you.
Caller: Cool. I have some questions about your show on bats. I'm hung up on a few things.
Male Producer: You're not the only one. Heh, what's on your mind.
(As the producer walks through a doorway, a shadowy, devilish-looking figure starts to tail him.)
Caller: First of all, if vampires aren't real, how come everybody's always talking about them and putting them in books, movies, and TV shows like yours?
Male Producer: Because the idea of vampires is scary, and people like to be scared by make believe monsters.
(The producer and, by proxy, the shadow then turn the corner into a room with some film equipment, containers, and a bat chart.)
Caller: Okay, next question: How come there was only one kind of bat on your show? There are almost one thousand kinds, you know.
(The producer takes a clipboard off of a TV stand and sits down in a director's chair.)
Male Producer: You're right, more than almost any other kind of mammal. And they live all over the world.
(The camera pans up to show the shadowy figure catching and eating an insect.)
Caller: And though most of them eat insects, some eat pollen, nectar, fruits, frogs, fish, other bats, and even lizards. Bet no one told Liz that, huh?
Male Producer: Uh, well, those kinds of bats were banned from the set. And we had very tight security.
(The TV comes on to show the part of the episode with the baby bats.)
Caller: Yeah, another thing. The only bat sounds we can hear are the squeaks bats make when they communicate.
(The scene then cuts to the bat that caught and ate a moth over the lake.)
Caller: And we really can't hear the sounds bats use to echolocate. They're too high-pitched for us to hear.
Male Producer: Hey, give us a break. Y'know, if we didn't use a little movie magic, you wouldn't have understood how they worked.
Caller: Okay, I'll give you that one. But here's something I don't think you wanted to mention.
(The shadow pokes in from behind and starts sneaking up on the producer.)
Caller: There are three kinds of bats that DO feed on blood.
Male Producer: Yes, but they're only called vampire bats because the people who named them heard make-believe vampire stories.
(The shadow starts to loom ominously over the Producer from behind.)
Caller: Not only that, vampire bats don't even suck blood. They make a tiny cut on the animal, and lap up the blood that comes out.
Male Producer: That's true, but bats don't really bother people. How come you know so much about bats anyway?
Caller: *takes on a vampiric accent of his own* Well what do you think?
(The producer starts to notice the shadow looming over and starts looking concerned.)
Caller: *still in that accent* You're the only ones who know anything about the creatures of the night?
(The producer gives an audible gasp as he looks back to the shadow's source. That source being... Liz, wearing gloves and a cape. Liz starts having a silent laughing fit as the conversation continues.)
Caller: *starts laughing a bit* I'm just kidding. Did I scare you?
Male Producer: *starts laughing and stammering a bit* Who me? Oh no. TV producers don't fall for that kind of stuff. Thanks for calling. *giggles a bit a Liz's prank as the scene fades to black*