Prompt by GiggityGuy.

The water was clear and glistening. It looked inviting, but Morty had been warned about how dangerous it was. Still, his eyes were drawn to it, and he couldn't look away.

"Careful, Morty," Rick advised. "Remember, that's the Fountain of Youth." He took his backpack off and pulled out a pair of gloves. "Don't even touch it," he said, handing them to Morty.

"Or I'll turn into a little kid again, I remember," Morty replied, taking the gloves and putting them on. "Still it's beautiful to look at."

Rick put on his own pair of gloves. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "But dangerous." He pulled out a pair of bottles and two towels. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Morty replied, picking up a bottle and uncapping it. "Let's go get some youth water."

Morty approached the pool cautiously with his grandpa right behind him. He knelt down at the water's edge, taking care not to get too close. Gently, he took the bottle, and with his gloved hand scooped the water up. He capped the lid then dried the bottle off with a towel. Carefully, he removed his gloves and cast them aside.

Rick had done the same, and was now putting his bottle of youth water into the backpack. Morty walked back to him and placed his bottle inside as well. "Good work, Morty," Rick complimented.

"What are you gonna do with this?" Morty asked.

"Study it," Rick replied. "Do you know how long I've been searching for the Fountain of Youth? I wanna know how this stuff works, Morty. And- and more importantly, how I can use it."

"You gonna weaponize it?" Morty asked. "Turn your enemies into babies?"

Rick smiled. "Great pitch. I might just do that. First, I gotta figure out how it works."

Morty picked up the backpack and slung it over his shoulders. "Well, let me know what you find," he said. "You ready to go home now?"

"Yeah," Rick agreed, pulling out his portal gun. He shot open a portal and jumped through it. Morty followed him, landing in the garage.

He moved to gently set the pack of water down on Rick's desk. "Have fun with your youth water," he said. "I'm going to go get some breakfast.

And with that, he left the room, leaving Rick to his work. His mom was standing in the kitchen, scrambling some eggs. "Good morning, sweetie," she said. "Were you out with Rick all night?"

"It actually wasn't for very long," Morty replied. "He just needed my help getting some water from the Fountain of Youth."

"Fountain of Youth, huh?" Summer asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Grandpa's not turning himself into a teenager again, is he?"

Morty grimaced, remembering the pile of dead clones sitting on the basement floor. "God, I hope not," he said. "But he's just studying it for now."

"Whatever," Summer replied. "I'm going to work," she said and left.

Morty waited until he heard the front door open and close before speaking. "Is she still grumpy about yesterday?" he asked.

Beth sighed. "Yeah," she responded.

Morty really wished he had been able to help her yesterday with her friend drama. It hurt to see his sister in tears over something that seemed so trivial. But seeing as he had no friends, he had no friendship advice, and that had really pissed her off.

"Well, I'm gonna catch some zzzs since Rick woke me up early," Morty said with a yawn at the end.

"Ok, sweetie," Beth replied. "Sleep well."

The water from the Fountain of Youth was fascinating. As far as Rick could tell, it contained genetic-altering properties that reversed the aging process. But what would happen if he froze it or heated it up?

He grabbed one of the bottles and headed into the kitchen. Beth was there, eating some scrambled eggs. "Hey, Dad," she greeted him.

"Hey, sweetie," he replied.

Beth looked curiously at the bottle in his hand. "Is that the water from the Fountain of Youth that Morty was telling me about?"

"Yep," Rick answered. "So it's incredibly important -urp- that you don't touch it." He opened his drawer in the freezer and set it next to his pint of cherry garcia.

Beth smiled at him. "Whatever you say, Dad."

Rick returned to the garage and pulled out his heating pad. He plugged it in and set the temperature to low. He took a swig from his flask. Admittedly, he was a little more drunk than he should be, but he didn't really care. His vision was starting to get blurry as he uncapped the second bottle and placed it on the heating pad.

His intention wasn't to boil it. He knew how dangerous that could be since breathing in the vapor would cause him to turn young again. And he definitely did not want that again. But he wanted to see if the warmer water worked faster.

He took another swig from his glass and looked at the particles through his microscope. They appeared to be moving faster, or was his vision just blurry still? He blinked, and his head drooped a little. He sat up quickly, startled. What was he doing again? He took another drink.

Rick saw spots before blacking out.

Feeling much better after his nap, Morty shuffled his way downstairs. His parents were enjoying coffee in the kitchen, smiling and laughing. He smiled watching them.

"Hey, Morty," Beth greeted him. "Ready for some breakfast?"

"Yeah, just let me check up on Rick first," Morty answered.

He opened the door to the garage and found a very small Rick passed out on his work desk while the youth water was boiling. "Shit!" Morty exclaimed, rushing to turn the hot pad off. He could already feel himself beginning to shrink.

"Morty, what's wrong?" he heard his mother calling.

"Don't come in here!" he exclaimed frantically, his voice rising higher, but as he turned to look in the doorway, he realized it was already too late. Both of his parents were shrinking.

"What's happening?" Jerry asked frantically.

"Rick boiled the water from the Fountain of Youth," Morty explained. "It's in the air."

Jerry looked down at himself. "What is it doing to me?"

Morty sighed with exasperation as he stared at his grandad's unconscious body. How could someone so smart be so stupid. "It's turning us into kids," Morty said. "All of us."