Chapter One
Morty Smith lay on top of his bed with his arms behind his head gazing dead eyed up at the ceiling. He thought lazily about how his life had changed so much in such a short period of time. His grandpa Rick had disappered since they had inadvertently caused the Galactic Federation to discover him at Birdperson's wedding. In the ensuing fight, Birdperson was shot, and killed. Rick had become a fugitive from 'justice'. Now, the Federation had taken over Earth, and Morty's life was suddenly thrown upside down.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Morty's school was now filled with exchange students from every corner of the galaxy, he had to pass through a series of DNA screenings between buildings, and everywhere he looked he saw strange amazing creatures. Everywhere he had went it felt like he was in some strange dreamlike state - between a horror and a sic-fi movie. After a while, he'd simply stopped going to school. No one seemed to notice or care. Everything was pointless and useless.
A general malaise had descended upon the Smith house. The entire house was silent. Normally he'd hear his Grandpa Rick in the garage tinkering with some Time travel device, or an extradimensionsal space ray, or he'd hear him burp in between sentences while giving his father Jerry the business. But now, nothing. No noise at all. He had no idea where Rick was or even how to get into contact with him. Morty understood why Rick had taken off, but as much as he hated to admit it, he missed his grandfather terribly. Somehow Rick's craziness had become a part of his life as his own beating heart, and without it, everything seemed – empty. He also quietly understood why Rick had fought the Galactic Federartion for so long. Rick was not a man of rules and regulation, and now that the Federation had taken over, Morty got why. Everything in Morty's life was now a series of pointless preceedors, and he wished so badly Rick would come bursting through the wall with his portal gun, with some ingenuis plan to fix everything. But he never did.
Morty wandered into the garage simply out of habit. He found it heartbreakingly empty. The federation had confiscated everything, the underground lair, all of Rick's inventions, his multi-dimensional remote, all of it was gone. Morty sighed sadly and went back into the house. His mother, Beth had taken Rick's absence the hardest. She already had issues with Rick's abandonment when she was young, and his sudden disapperance left her crushed. Since he was gone, the vaccume of alcoholic self loathing had to be filled and she took to it instantly. Empty bottles littered Beth's bedroom and she currently was snoring slumped over the kitchen table, a small amount of vomit spilling from her lips.
"Like father like daughter" Morty thought miserably. He abscent mindedly kept glancing at the wall hoping against hope a portal would open and something amazing would pop out of it, but nothing ever happend. So Morty went back to his room to stew in his own self doubt and misery like everyone else in the house. He looked out the window watching the fog and spritzy cold rain spittle against the windows. Even the weather seemed depressed without Rick.
Morty had to remind himself that there was a version of himself and Rick buried in the yard outside of that window. They had inadvertently destroyed the world and taken over the places of the two poor unfortunate souls below him. He kept glancing out the window trying to force himself some odd cold dose of how insane the universe really was and how at the heart of nothing mattered, and nobody belonged anywhere. But he belonged. He belonged with Rick. Every Rick must have a a Morty, and now he found himself Rickless.
Strange as it seemed, there was a part of Morty that was enterally grateful to his grandfather for reasons he couldnt quite grasp. He hated himself for feeling this way, but try as he might to remain angry at the miserable drunken old bastard, his feelings of fear and loss always overtook him, and he found himself missing Rick more and more. Morty knew Rick was a selfish horrible, and completely irresponsible axxhole, but there was always a tiny glimmer of real humanity behind his self destruction and loathing. At the heart of him, he truly loved and was devoted to his family despite saying or acting otherwise. Sometimes.