"I don't know, guys. Fifteen dollars is a lot of money." Cindy Lou Who said as she stood with her friends; they were hoping to buy a new video game called "Day of Doom III".
"Well, 'Day of Doom III' is a lot of game, Cindy." Ozzy said.
"I'm kinda starting to have second thoughts on this." Izzy commented.
"Come on, it can't be that bad." Groopert said.
"Now remember, it's for mature players only. So we'll need to act way more mature than we usually do. I'll try and grow a mustache!" Axl exclaimed, attempting to grow a mustache on his own.
"Hey, my mom is over 18. I'll act like her." Cindy chimed in before she and her friends headed over to the counter with the game; she handed the game and some money to the cashier. "Hi there, Mr. Kip. Think you can ring this up for us?"
"Hey, kids. I know you mean well, but this game isn't for you. Trust me." The cashier, Mr. Kip, said as friendly as possible. "This game is for mature players only due to violence, over exaggerated mayhem, slight gore, and lots of flashing lights. I just don't think it's for you; you could get serious night terrors."
"That's not fair! We're highly mature!" Ozzy exclaimed, pounding his tiny fist on the desk. "I demand my constipational rights!"
"Don't you mean 'constitutional'?" Izzy asked.
"Isn't that what I said?" Ozzy asked.
The next thing they knew, Cindy and all of her friends were suddenly thrown out of the video game store and into the sidewalk.
"Sorry, kids. It's nothing personal." Mr. Kip said.
"How dare he throw your mother out of the store?!" Groopert yelled.
"Whatever. Come on, guys. Let's go do something 'age appropriate'." Cindy sighed in defeat before she and the others walked away.
As the five Who children walked down through town, they bumped into a familiar face.
"Hey, kids." The Grinch's voice greeted; his dog Max barked happily.
"Hi, Mr. Grinch." Cindy said.
"What wrong with you?" Grinch asked.
"We wanted to buy a new video game, but Mr. Kip said it wasn't for us." Groopert explained. "He said it was for mature players only."
"What's the game?"
"It's called 'Day of Doom III'." Izzy answered.
"Sounds intense."
"It looks intense, too." Axl said. "But Mr. Kip told us it's not meant for kids."
"Well… maybe Kip has a point." The Grinch said. "Judging by the title alone, this game sounds a little too violent for you guys. Video games are given certain ratings for a reason."
"Awww!" The kids whined.
"Sorry kids, but it's just the way it has to be."
"I wish I could be eighteen years old right now." Groopert groaned.
"Me too." Cindy added.
"Be careful what you wish for."
"Ugh, not that again. Do you know how many times we've been told that stupid phrase?" Ozzy asked. "It's gotten old."
The Grinch was about to speak again when he had a thought. "This may sound weird, but theoretically, I suppose someone could speed up their metabolism to make themselves eighteen. But it would be pretty unethical in my opinion."
"Unethical?" Cindy-Lou asked.
"It's just a fancy word for morally wrong." Grinch replied before walking away with Max.
The five kids paused and looked at each other with wide eyes before looking at their older friend.
"You mean to say the only thing standing between us and hot, multiplayer action is a difference between right and wrong?!" Axl yelled before he and the others ran after the Grinch with huge grins on their faces.
"Well, yeah but—Agh! Hey, hey!" Grinch cried out as the five children pushed and/or dragged him in the direction of Mt. Crumpit.
At Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch was hard at work building a machine to help his little friends. And finally, it was finished. He turned it on and wiped sweat from his brow.
"Phew, done!" He huffed, falling into his chair in exhaustion.
"And it only took five more hours than it should have." Ozzy rudely remarked.
"So, how does it work?" Izzy asked.
"Allow me to demonstrate using this acorn." The Grinch answered before throwing an acorn through the beam. They went around to the other side to see that the acorn had turned into a giant tree. "Cool, huh?"
"Whoa!" The kids exclaimed.
"So now that we know it works, you kids can use the Metabolic Accelerator to age yourselves." The Grinch said as he made his way to the dashboard.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Groopert asked.
"Don't worry about it. It's fine." Grinch replied as he typed in a few things and pulling a lever. "Okay. Target age: eighteen. Ready?"
"Ready." Cindy and her friends took their positions.
"On the count of three. One, two… three!"
And with that, the kids ran through the beam. Unsure of what happened, the Grinch got up and went to the other side… only to see that they hadn't changed. He furrowed his brow and scratched his chin as Cindy and her friends looked at each other in confusion.
"Uh, Mr. Grinch? We all look the same." Cindy pointed out.
"Aww, what a rip!" Ozzy yelled.
"That's weird. Then again, Whos are more physically complex than acorns." The Grinch concluded. "You know what? Maybe we should just call it a day, kids. I'm sure I can figure out the problem after a good night's sleep."
0-0-0-0-0-0
The next morning, the Grinch woke up to a knock at the door. He groaned as he looked at his clock to see that it was 7:30 am; he hated waking up so early in the morning. He made his way to the door, opened it, and he screamed in terror at what he saw. Standing on his doorstep were five elderly Whos, only they weren't ordinary old people… they were Cindy-Lou and her friends.
"Mr. Grinch? Is that you way over there?" Cindy asked in a wavering voice.
"Agh! Guys, something went horribly wrong!" Grinch exclaimed.
"Oh, you think?!" Groopert yelled. "And another thing, kids today wear their pants too low! They're down under their stomachs, for crying out loud!"
In the workshop, Grinch tried to find the problem and eventually, he did.
"Oh boy. It looks like the machine itself didn't stop at eighteen as the target age." He said. "It just kept going up and up and up until… this happened. And maybe I shouldn't have made the all-important time break out of an old soda can."
"Please fix us, Mr. Grinch!" Cindy begged. "I don't wanna be this old for sixty more years."
"Well, you won't have to. None of you will." The Grinch explained as he typed on a calculator. "According to these calculations, you kids will continue to age until you turn to dust at 6:05 this evening."
"WHAT?!" Cindy and her friends yelled.
"I said, 'You have until'—" Grinch began.
"No, no, we heard you. We just don't believe it." Izzy said.
"I don't wanna die so soon!" Groopert cried.
"And I'm allergic to dust!" Axl added.
"Okay, okay, okay! Don't panic. We can fix this." Grinch said, trying to remain calm. "I just need to hack into the machine's main frame and reverse the effects of the device, it's simple. And I also need to get a hold of enough titanium to make a stronger time break."
"Titanium?" Ozzy asked.
"It's a light, but very strong metal. The right amount of it should do the job." Grinch explained.
"Hey, maybe we could get it for you." Cindy suggested.
"Uh, are you sure you wanna do that?"
"Please, Mr. Grinch. We want to help. Please?"
Grinch sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stay here and work on the Metabolic Accelerator while you kids go into town and fetch enough titanium."
"Don't worry, Mr. Grinch. You can count on us."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Cindy Lou, are you sure Mr. Bricklebaum wants us to drive his car?" Izzy asked nervously; they were all driving down the mountain into Whoville with Cindy at the wheel.
"Izzy, I'm at least seventy-five years old. I think I can make my own decisions." Cindy retorted.
"Hey, I know what you harpies are doing! You're trying to take me to the nursing home! Let me out, let me out!" Axl yelled, banging his fists on the backseat window.
"Axl, be careful! This car is going an excess of seven miles an hour." Groopert whined.
After a minute or two of inexperienced driving, they parked the car right in front of the local bakery and got out.
"Oh fiddlesticks!" Cindy cried, scratching her head. "Does anyone remember what we drove down here to get?"
"I got nothin'." Axl replied.
"Nope." Izzy added.
"Nuh-uh." Ozzy commented.
"Well, I'd like a canary to talk to while I watch TV and eat Beezlenut stew." Groopert commented.
"Not helping." Izzy replied.
"Aha! Titanium, that's it!" Cindy exclaimed before she shuffled her way to the hardware store.
"I think Cindy Lou wants us to follow her." Axl said.
"Yeah, of course I've always wanted to try the Senior's Buffet at the Cake-A-Licious bakery." Ozzy said before heading inside; the others were following close behind.
"Hey, wait for me." Groopert called.
"Me too." Izzy commented.
"Right behind you, my wrinkled friends." Axl added.
Cindy Lou stood at a stoplight and patiently waited for it to turn green. She may be an old lady, but she still remembered how to cross the road.
"Wait, proud senior! We will assist you!" A young voice called.
Cindy turned around to see two little Who girls dressed in Who Scout uniforms and they were coming towards her. She quickly turned back around.
"Forget it, she's not interested." One girl said.
"Hey, do you want your 'Assisting the Elderly' patch or not?" The second girl said before going over to Cindy and taking her hand. "Take my arm, madam."
"No, that's okay, girls. I don't need any help." Cindy calmly objected before the second girl grabbed her other arm.
"Yeah, you do."
"No I don't, really."
"Listen up, lady; we can do this the easy way or we can earn our Who-Kwon-Do patches at the same time."
"Hey, no! I'm fine, really! Let go of me! Help, somebody! I'm being old-napped!" Cindy cried out as the two girls pulled her across the street.
'Oh, I wish Mr. Grinch was here!'
In the bakery, Ozzy, Izzy, Axl, and Groopert were all stuffing their faces with bowls upon bowls of rice pudding. They had no idea rice pudding was THIS good and they felt they couldn't stop, especially not now.
"Hey, Goldilocks." The owner of the bakery, Chloe, said as she stopped at their table. "What's going on here? You and your buddies are taking all of the rice pudding from the buffet!"
"It said 'Senior's Buffet'. Dessert is free." Axl objected.
"You're supposed to buy an entrée first." Chloe argued.
"We did." Ozzy commented. "I had a hot dog in here yesterday."
He and the others all laughed and chortled at Ozzy's joke before Chloe sighed in frustration and walked away.
"That's a good one." Groopert breathed.
"Yeah, that is rich." Izzy added.
"Oh, my spleen." Ozzy whined.
In the hardware store, Cindy Lou was trying to remember what it was she wanted, but she had already forgotten it yet again.
"Now what was it I wanted again? Something starting with a 'T'. Tostadas? Turpentine? Tortoise? No, no, something else. Oh, where is Mr. Grinch when I need him?" She trailed off before hearing a familiar voice behind her.
"Hello there."
She turned around to see her mother, Donna, standing there. Cindy's eyes widened in horror, but she was relieved to find out that her mother didn't recognize her.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Donna politely asked before noticing something about the old woman in front of her. "Um, excuse me for saying this, but you look familiar."
Cindy's eyes widened again; she knew exactly where this was going.
'Oh no, here it comes…' She thought.
"I know! You remind me of my mother." Donna said.
"What? Oh, no that's not possible. I don't have any family." Cindy lied.
"You don't? Oh no, that's terrible!" Then Donna had an idea. "Why don't you come home with me? And I'll get you a nice home cooked meal."
"What?! No, I can't! I need to find something with a 't' in it!" Cindy objected as her mother dragged her out of the store and down the sidewalk.
"Well, I'll get you a nice cup of tea."
"Let go!"
"Come on!"
"I said, let me go!"
Back at the bakery, Izzy and Groopert were listening to the music when they heard a loud snapping noise.
"Hey, guys. Quit snapping your fingers!" Groopert yelled.
"Yeah, I can't hear the music!" Izzy whined.
"It's not my fingers; it's my spine!" Axl said, cracking his back.
"Mine too!" Ozzy added, doing the same thing.
"Hey, good-lookin'." An old lady in a pink dress said as she approached Groopert with a piece of paper; it was a flier for a dance contest. "Wanna dance with me?"
"Oh, uh… No thanks." Groopert said. "I'd like to, but I'm full of pudding so…"
"Hey, punk! You tryin' to get with my gal?" An old man with a long beard yelled; the old woman rolled her eyes.
"No!" Groopert nervously argued.
"What if he is, Mister Snarky-Pants?" Ozzy said.
"No, I wasn't! I don't even like girls yet!" Groopert said, trying to calmly reason with the man.
"I challenge you to a dance-off!" The man said.
"He accepts!" Axl exclaimed.
"Huh? No I don't!"
"Dance-off! Dance-off! Dance-off! Dance-off!" The other elders happily chanted.
The music started and every senior citizen in the bakery started to dance.
0-0-0-0-0-0
At Cindy Lou's house, Donna had just prepared dinner and served it to Cindy. Mr. Bricklebaum had joined them that evening and he was sitting right next to Cindy Lou with Buster and Bean on his other side.
"Here's dinner." She said before sitting down.
"So what'd you do before you retired, ma'am?" Bricklebaum asked.
"Oh, I can't even remember what I'm supposed to be doing now. But I think it's very important." Cindy replied.
"Oh, I know! Maybe if we guess, it'll jog your memory." Bricklebaum suggested.
"If you say so."
"Did it involving swinging heavy things or using tools?"
"No, I don't think so."
"That rules out lumberjack, construction worker, and executioner. Hmmmm…"
"What about working with children?" Donna suggested.
"No." Cindy said.
"I guess teacher, babysitter, and nanny are out." Donna remarked. "You know, I wish Cindy Lou would come home soon. Her dinner's getting cold."
"Yeah, I wonder where that little scamp could be. I haven't seen her all day." Bricklebaum added, scratching his massive beard.
"Oh, Mr. Bricklebaum? What times does that new episode of 'Dancing With Who Stars' start?"
"6:05, I think."
"6:05?!" Cindy screamed in shock before looking at the clock; it was 5:45. "Oh no! That's it! I'm gonna turn to dust in twenty minutes!"
"What in the world are you talking about?" Donna asked.
"No, you don't understand. I'm actually Cindy Lou Who." Cindy explained. "I'm gonna keep aging until I turn to dust! Mr. Grinch is probably freaking out by now!"
"Mr. Grinch? What does he have to—?" Bricklebaum started.
"He accidentally turned me and my friends into old people, but there's no time to explain!" Cindy cried before heading towards the door. "I gotta get that thing that starts with a 'T'! Toaster? No. Turkey bacon? No!"
Donna and Bricklebaum were left staring at one another in confusion.
"You don't actually believe her, do you?" Donna asked. "That can't be Cindy, can it?"
"I have no idea. But she did look pretty upset." Bricklebaum replied. "Maybe we should go help her."
"Yeah, maybe you're right. She looked pretty scared. Come on."
Donna picked up Buster and Bean, she and Bricklebaum got up from their seats, and they went after Cindy Lou just before Ozzy, Izzy, Axl, and Groopert all came up to the house. Groopert was lying on a gurney for some reason and the others were pushing it.
"Hey, Cindy Lou!" Izzy called.
"Guys, thank goodness! We need something in the next twenty minutes before we all turn to dust!" Cindy exclaimed.
"If it's rice pudding, we're in luck." Axl said.
"Yeah. Groopert here won a lifetime supply at a dance contest." Ozzy added.
"Oh! And this titanium trophy." Groopert said, holding a silver metal trophy.
"Titanium? Titanium, THAT'S IT! That's what we need! Follow me, to Mt. Crumpit! And hurry!" Cindy exclaimed.
"Hold on there, kids!" Bricklebaum said. "You're gonna need some help."
"We can get you to Mt. Crumpit in no time." Donna said with a smile.
The Grinch was pacing the floor of his cave nervously, hoping the kids hadn't hurt themselves or turned to dust already. Max watched just as anxiously as his master.
"Oh, where are they?!" He yelled before hearing a knock at the door. "Please let that be them."
He answered the door and saw Donna, Bricklebaum, Cindy Lou, and her friends standing there. He heaved a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Grinch, we have the titanium!" Groopert said, holding up the trophy.
"That's great! To the workshop, now!" The Grinch yelled.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Only a few minutes left." Grinch said. "Okay. Groopert, hand me the trophy."
"Here you go, Mister Bossy." Groopert said as Grinch snatched the trophy and put it in the right spot.
"Hopefully, this titanium will be enough to revert you guys back to your original ages." He pulled the lever and the machine ignited. "Through the beam, quick!"
"How about a nap first, to build up my strength?" Izzy yawned.
"No, there's no time! Cindy Lou, help me out here!" Grinch said.
"G27, I've got bingo!" Ozzy cried out.
Cindy then got an idea. "Hey, guys look! Half price on prune whip!"
"Half price?!" Axl cried.
"What are we doing here?!" Groopert said as he and his friends went over to the machine, but they kept getting in the way of each other.
Grinch watched before looking at the clock; there was only one minute left! He then decided to take matters into his own hands. He got up behind them and with all his might, pushed all five of them through the beam.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"That was a close one." Grinch sighed in relief as he made his way to the door; Max was right behind him.
Donna, Bricklebaum, and Cindy Lou and her friends were following after them.
"I thought for sure we were going to run out of time." Donna commented.
"Boy, I sure learned my lesson." Cindy said.
"Yeah, I guess it's true. Rice pudding is nature's broom." Groopert said as he and the others walked out the door.
"No. I meant that being a kid is a pretty good deal." Cindy said.
Izzy, Axl, and Groopert smiled and agreed.
"You got that right, sister." Ozzy said with his mouth full; he was carrying a bowl of some purplish pink substance and he was eating from it.
"Uh, Ozzy? What are you eating?" Bricklebaum asked.
"Just some prune whip from Mr. Grinch's workshop." Ozzy replied.
"There wasn't any prune whip." Cindy retorted. "I just said that to make you guys go through the beam."
"She's right. I don't own any prune whip. I don't even like prunes." Grinch said before noticing something about the strange substance. "Wait, let me see that." He dipped his finger in the substance and had a quick taste. He froze.
"What is it?" Donna hesitantly asked.
"This is my experimental Truth-Telling Serum!" Grinch exclaimed.
"What? Why would you make something like that?" Axl asked.
"I don't know. I got tired of waiting for you guys and I was bored, okay?" Grinch said.
"Come on, Mr. Grinch. You really expect me to—" Ozzy said before his pupils dilated and his face went blank; he dropped the bowl and spoon in the process. "I stole Cindy Lou's pencil the other day. Sometimes I dream about girls. I ate some yellow snow by accident."
"Uh, you kids had better go." Grinch said.
"How long until this stuff wears off?" Izzy asked.
"Hopefully this is only tempor—" Grinch started before he had the same expression on his face as Ozzy. "When I was little, I stole somebody's bike and threw it off the roof. I like to sing along to really loud rock music. I ate a donut out of the trash the other day."
"Let's just go home." Donna said.
"I'm in." Bricklebaum added, grabbing Ozzy by the hand.
"I don't think Santa Claus exists." Grinch admitted.
"No, no, no! Lalalalalalalalalala, I don't wanna hear it!" Groopert yelled, covering his ears and walking down the mountain; Cindy, Izzy, and Axl followed after him while Bricklebaum had to drag Ozzy along with him.
"Let's go. It's time for dinner anyway." Donna said dismissively.
"My mom's really forty-two. I like to play with stuffed bunnies when I'm alone." Ozzy went on.
"I don't really know my actual age. I actually like the taste of donuts better when they're form the trash." Grinch continued; Max closed his eyes and shook his head, letting out a whimper.
"Ugh, make them stop!" Groopert screamed.