It felt almost unreal to find a cave in a natural mountain formation that resembled a steel structure. However, a quick scan of the environment clearly indicated that not only a cave was present, but it had been also artificially created. The Division wasn't wrong with their brief. Or so it would have seemed.

After they searched through the area around the entrance, Rick led his entire team inside. The squadron quickly picked up the pace, prepared to run at least a mile that separated them from the next room in this incredibly unsettling hall. Whoever built it, must have had a lot of plans in mind. Military perhaps. Or experimental. One can never know. Whatever W-792 was looking for here, it must have been hidden for ages and was worth a lot.

"Slower!" Commander Rick exhaled suddenly, evening out his panting.

Their mission was clearly meant to reach the target as soon as possible, slowing down seemed like a useless and dangerous deviation. The commander must had known that. Nevertheless, he continued. The rest of the team adjusted their pace accordingly. Despite their objections, they knew that their leader would never go against instructions from the Division unless he was sure that it was necessary. And if it was, it most probably meant trouble.

Suddenly, the commander gave them a hand signal to stop. The whole squadron froze in anticipation what this could have meant.

A full minute passed. The silence of the cave was closing in on them, the only clear and unsettling sound being the captain's nervous panting. Something was definitely off. A cracking sound could be heard over the intercom. Even the oxygen in the tanks started feeling heavy. Everyone took a deep, steady breath.

"Safety. Off." the commander instructed them slowly, prepping his gun. A newly updated plasma blaster. His model had an additional option to stun targets. Not today though. This day could have only ended in a bloodbath.

"Sir, we're almost at the…" Scout Rick wasn't sure what exactly they were dealing with. It was his first advanced mission. It didn't excuse his lack of trust in the leader either way.

"I know where we are, you di- dipshit!" Commander Rick stuttered angrily and pulled Scout closer to him. The DNA scanner in his hand was off the rails, the display flooded with color configurations never previously used, emitting an annoying sound barely, yet persistently hearable. At least to a human. "Do you see this?" he muttered, grinding his teeth in rage. Scout Rick nodded, not exactly sure if he knew what he was supposed to pay attention to.

"Did the scanner broke?" it definitely seemed so. There was no other excuse than a malfunction. A DNA scanner was nothing more than simple analysis tool. It could track any target within the same dimension across the whole universe, granted their genetic material was encoded in it. But that wasn't hard to set up. A small sample with a short description was usually enough. Compared to other technology the Citadel had been developing, this was nothing more than a can opener. Useful, but nothing unusual.

"No, you idiot!" the Commander sighed and looked at the rest of the team "Do any of you know what we're dealing with here?".

None of the team members said anything, waiting for the reveal. There was nothing else one could do when a Rick switched to monologue mode. They were all aware of that. They've seen all the other Ricks do it too many times. Enough times that catching themselves doing it was not only unnerving but simply embarrassing.

"The scanner shows that in a few moments we're going to enter a room filled with scattered human remains. Thi- This isn't like anything we have dealt with before..." he took a closer look at the rest of the team, their expression ranging from semi-disinterested to simply amused. "Oh, I know you fuckers like to make fun of any of us monologuing but I'm sure you'll wipe these smirks of your faces when I tell you that W-792 is not the only scattered body there..."

The Engineer Sergeant shook his head in disbelief.

"Is M-Morty...?"

"No, asshole" Commander Rick put away his blaster, the scabbard on his back never felt heavier. "Morty is alive. He's not in one piece anymore, but he's definitely alive...". He reached into the medical kit he had attached to his belt and pulled out a small assistance device. "Now listen. This will be tough and painful. But I want you to understand that despite seeing M- Morty in pain, you need to stay focused. Scout, you'll lead everyone to the room. Sergeants, all of you will have to do your best to cover me and get whoever else is in that room to focus on you while I grab Morty. Once I get him and give first aid, which shouldn't take more than 30 seconds, we bail. Got it? We can't be here any longer. M- Morty is the most important part of this mission. He must be protected".

He could see everyone nod slowly, checking their guns' readiness.

"I promise you. He'll be alright. We'll save him" Commander Rick smiled, seeing his squadron's dedication. He was proud to be leading a team of Ricks who cared.

A truly rare occurrence in the multiverse.