MurderVictim

I'm Talking Rainbows, I'm Talking Puppies!

Awesome use of theme song! :D

Welcome to the guild!

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty glanced towards the back, then nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he looked to Rick. "But that...I mean that doesn't really e-explain-" Morty cut himself off as Rick got out of the car. Sighing, Morty followed. He took a couple steps away from the ship, looking around as he did.

"What-What kind of candy store did you say this was, Rick?" Morty turned his attention back to him just in time to see his grandfather shoot his pistol. "Oh my god!" he shrieked, briefly throwing his hands on his head. His eyes followed the trail of colorful bubbles that was once the strange creature. "J-Jeez, Rick! He didn't seem too bad!"

Despite his argument, Morty hurried to keep up with Rick. The nervousness on his face had noticeably increased, and would continue to do so as he took another look around. He had almost been expecting a normal, delightfully cheery candy store run by a race of pleasant aliens. Almost.

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty watched Rick's reaction to his questions. He half-expected him to shrug him off or ignore him altogether, so he turned his head away just before Rick began to speak. Despite his attention being on the stars, Morty listened. He winced when he was told what had happened to his grandfather's friend, who he wasn't sure about either way. The guy seemed kind of weird.

He looked over at Rick when he mentioned the council, and shrugged. "I-I guess." He was going to say something, particularly to joke about how well Rick's name could be used for anything. But he didn't get the chance, as the shift into a dive cut him off. His stomach lurched, and his face paled slightly at the shifting g-forces. "Ugh," he groaned. Something was off. He looked to Rick again, eyeing his ice cream cone.

"Where'd you get that, anyway?" He gestured to the ice cream.

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty's stomach lurched forward as the ship left the planet. He leaned back in his seat, trying to grow used to such an unusual feeling after going so long without knowing it. He put a hand to his head, feeling the dull ache of a headache approaching before gently shaking it and focusing his eyes at the windshield. Going wide-eyed once again, Morty pressed his hand to the glass beside his seat and looked out, glad to see the stars again. He honestly didn't think he'd miss them so much. A smile came to his face as memories rushed through his mind. His eyes glossed over with what would have been tears had he not blinked them away. With the same smile on his face, Morty turned to look at Rick. He opened his mouth to say something about what images the stars had triggered, but stopped himself.

Oh...

His smile faltered, and he turned away from the glass. Sitting straight in his seat, though a little hunched over, Morty put his elbow against the window and rested his cheek heavily in his palm. It didn't take long, however, for his attention to meander back to Rick. He watched him glance down at the dials, and curiosity hit him. Sitting up again, Morty did his best to seem casual as he leaned over a bit to steal a better look at the meters. They...Weren't reading anything? He tried to recall if that was normal in the last ship, and he couldn't say either way if it was or wasn't. He'd never caught his Rick paying any particular attention to them, and even if he did Morty wouldn't have had any idea of how to read the meters. Maybe he was just overthinking things.

"So, u-umm...Why was your ship at the gas station? I-I mean, uh...If you're my replacement Rick, wouldn't the council like, introduce us there or something? I-I mean it seems kind of weird..."

Total eclipse of the Rick~

"A...Candy store, Rick?"

Morty watched Rick with a raised eyebrow. A somewhat disturbed look came over his face as the man through the odd device through the portal. He could only guess what that was, though judging by Rick's comment, it couldn't have been good.

The disturbance faded quickly, completely gone once Morty stepped though the second portal. The sensation the green light surrounded him was almost comforting, though only because of its familiarity. Once he was on the other side, finding the gas station parking lot, he was about to question it when he caught sight of the ship. He stopped in his tracks to take a good look at it.

The ship he knew was gone. Where? He didn't know. He just knew that a couple weeks after his return, when he grew the nerve to look in the garage, his grandpa's ship wasn't there to greet him. He was so undeniably pissed. He was so mad that it was almost the teenage equivalent of a temper tantrum. Out of all the things his family could have touched, why that?

And he still didn't know who did it. Beth could hardly look at anything Rick ever touched, so it couldn't have been her. Jerry might have been the one, but Summer was clearly filled with similar hormonal, grieving rage. It wouldn't surprise him if she had attempted to fly the ship, and wrecked it somewhere because she didn't know how to drive it properly. Still, seeing the empty spot in the garage was gut-wrenching.

Maybe it was for the best. If it had still been there, Morty would have been long gone. He'd probably be dead by his own incompetence.

Shaking those thoughts off, not having realized how he had froze up so randomly, Morty hurried to the ship and hopped in. He glanced around it, then gave a small smile in Rick's direction. "S-So-So why the candy store, Rick?"

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty nodded and hurried out of the kitchen. As he made it to the stairs, something in him kicked in. Was it excitement? Must have been, as it pushed him to bound up the stairs two steps at a time. Thankfully the stairs were carpetted, or he might have woken up his mom and sister. Yet, in his haste to get to his room, Morty tripped on the second to last step and faceplanted at the top of the stairs. Fuck. He pushed himself up and hurried into his room, hardly closing the door before changing clothes.

"So where are we going?" he asked as he entered the garage. As much as he was trying to not let Rick see his excitement, he clearly failed. But he still kept his distance, trying to keep a line between letting himself have fun and falling for something that would ultimately hurt him.

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty could only stare at him. He raised an eyebrow as he watched a drip of icecream fall to the floor. When did...? Maybe this was a dream. It was too good to be reality. But damn would he be lying if he said Rick's words didn't sound wonderful. He broke into a smile - an actual, genuine smile. But it didn't last long. He furrowed his brow, rolled his eyes, and sighed.

"Okay, Rick. We can-We can go." He stepped away from the counter to approach his grandfather. "B-But this doesn't change anything, okay? I'll-I'll be your replacement Morty, but there's no way you can...you can replace my Rick." There was an edge to his voice that he seemed to be having a hard time holding on to. After staring up at Rick for a moment longer, he dragged his gaze down to his pajamas.

When he spoke next, he sounded much more like a normal Morty. "C-Can I change first?"

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Morty narrowed his eyes, though didn't say anything to Rick's harsh sarcasm. He clenched his fists at his sides, shaking slightly. His attention went to Rick's hand in his jacket, and he grit his teeth as he pulled out whatever he had been looking for. Morty studied his face, and for some reason felt his stomach turn at the slightest change of expression on the man's face. "W-What are you looking at! Huh, Rick?!"

He shut his mouth when Rick spoke. He clenched his fists even harder. How did he know about Morty's run-in with the Council of Ricks? Was that part of what he was reading? Unfortunately, that didn't help with his anger. "O-Of course not, you fucking asshole! I wouldn't be so lucky, w-would I, Rick!" He spat out the name like it physically hurt him to say, his voice cracking the slightest bit. The anger on his face shifted for a moment, flashing something that looked like hurt. But it was gone in an instant, replaced with more anger.

"You didn't answer my question!"

Total eclipse of the Rick~

"Freezer burn...? Who-Who are you talking about?" Morty turned to watch Rick leave the garage. He fidgeted with his hands for a moment, shifting his weight from foot to foot before deciding to follow. Nothing was making sense. He should have just gone back to bed and dismissed it all as a dream that he'd forget in the morning. But he was far too awake to do that now, too eager to follow Rick around like he had months prior.

Morty moved around Jerry, that time not bothering to acknowledge him. He got into the kitchen just as he heard a strange, loud voice. His heart nearly skipped a beat at how startling it was, and he hurried to move to where Rick was. Of course, he wasn't expecting the yellow, bloody creature. At the sight of Mr.Poopybutthole, Morty jumped back against the counter. Fortunately for him, he came in after the crisis had been fixed. At the state he was currently in, the kid might have had a mini-breakdown at seeing so much blood and pain from the unfamiliar alien.

"Oh my God! What-What...Who..." He turned his attention on Rick, suddenly angry. "Who the hell are you?!" Clearly, he knew exactly who Rick was, but it was painfully obvious that he didn't belong in this dimension. As much as he wanted to believe that this was his Rick, he couldn't let himself fool him into believing such an obvious lie.

Total eclipse of the Rick~

Something clicked in Morty's brain, evidenced by how his eyes widened a bit. Without a word, he turned and hurried back into the house. He was moving so fast that he nearly ran right into Jerry. He tensed, barely an inch away from him and his carton of ice cream, then skirted around him without much care.

"S-Sorry, Dad!" He called without looking over his shoulder. Once in the living room, Morty snagged the cable box from below the TV, hardly mindful of the wires connecting the devices.

The crystal cast soft pink light on his hand as he reached for it. He tugged at it, and when it was pried loose it sent a few sparks flying. Morty cursed under his breath at how hot it was in his hand. He returned the cable box where it had been, and quickly went back to the garage.

Offering the crystal to Rick, Morty stole a peek at what was on the table. "What is that?" He couldn't help his curiosity - it was better than feeling numb.