Rickamarole
Written by Kat_Aclysm
Rated : - T for language.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, this is a work of fanfiction. Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim animated comedy. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.
NOTE: Dis one turns south broh.
Chapter 2 – The Dropoff
The ship flew across the galaxy at incredible speed. Morty was only vaguely aware of the soft humming sound of the engine as he curled up in his seat, trying to get as comfortable as he could. Although that was impossible right now - the seat had been reclined back as far as it would go and no matter how he lay across it, his stomach was still giving him grief no matter what position he lied in. He had no idea why he felt so horrible, but it was getting worse and he began to shiver. Morty dared not complain about it however - he remained completely silent in the fear that Rick would berate him for whining about 'trivial' such things. That thought annoyed the 14 year old and he turned over once again, his back facing Rick now.
Meanwhile, Rick attempted to concentrate his attention on the flight path ahead, though if he had to admit it to himself, he was growing increasingly concerned with Morty's current state. Usually the kid was upright and bright-eyed whenever they flew around the galaxy, though right now he was completely inattentive and disinterested. The fact that he was completely silent and shivering only caused Rick to worry further, and he felt a strong overwhelming sense of guilt now that the kid was suffering entirely because of him. It was too late to go back now.
"God, how could you be so selfish?" Rick glared as he thought to himself. "He was right you know - you could have done whole thing without him."
Truth was, Rick didn't want to do anything alone as long as Morty was around. He'd never actually said it, or would ever admit to it – but he loved Morty more than life itself. Having the kid around made him happy. Morty looked up to his grandpa and respected him, that made him feel important. The fact that Morty was usually optimistic was something to be admired, and although his naive optimism was usually something that Rick shot down, he liked that quality in him too. In a strange way, Morty reminded him of himself.
When Morty turned his back to him as he rolled onto his side, Rick finally allowed himself a proper look at the kid.
"He's fucking miserable, you idiot. This is all your fault." He silently berated himself. "Sometimes he worries you don't even like him. Do something nice for him later."
'Nice' wasn't his strong suit. Rick leaned back in his seat and sighed - guilt was not something he wanted to feel right now. With one hand on the wheel, he pulled his silver flask out of his pocket, took a few short sips from it, and then stuffed it back into his pocket. He reached across the console and flicked the heater on for Morty, hoping that it would help him to stop shivering.
It was the least he could do.
Morty woke with a start and a loud yelp as something hit the side of the ship. He rather abruptly sat up when he heard the equally loud metallic scrape on the underside. Morty immediately regretted the action and hugged his gut, seeing hazy spots in his eyes because of the intense pain. When the haziness cleared again, he saw they were parked in the corner of a poorly-lit run down multi-storey parking garage. The lighting overhead was flickering on and off like it was about to short out. There was grafitti and all sorts of weird stains all over the concrete walls nearby - the place looked like it hadn't been maintained in years. However, it was still very much in use as there were several other vehicles were parked nearby.
"Relax, buddy, we just landed. Nothing to worry about." Rick's tone was flat and slightly annoyed – he'd made another terrible landing and wondered if the ship was scratched up. "H-hang tight here for a few moments. Grandpa just has some business to run. This shouldn't take long – listen to the radio or something, I-I dunno whatever it is the crap you kids do. Entertain your-URPP-self."
Rick left the engine running in idle and fiddled with the front console of the ship, tuning in to an alien radio-station – the sound of loud garbled singing sounds and weird music immediately flooded the cabin. He turned the heater up as high as it would go and pulled a handheld video-game device out of his coat pocket.
"H-here. Have fun with this." Rick tossed the device into Morty's lap and shut the door behind him, then walked off to inspect the damage to the ship.
Morty sat up properly in the seat and watched Rick for the next few moments. When he disappeared around the back to open the trunk, Morty shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Mmm..." He made a pitiful weak groan and squeezed his eyes shut again, curling into a ball, hugging his stomach as if it would make the pain go away. He lay there, motionless, trying to stave off the horrid feeling of pain and nausea in his gut. He could hear his heart pounding rapidly in his ears and no matter how high the heater was, he found himself shivering again.
"H-how long is he going to be gone for...? Oh geez..." Morty said aloud to himself. He lay there for what seemed like hours, though in reality Rick was only gone for the best part of ten minutes.
Rick came back to the ship once the transaction was made, feeling quite pleased with himself. He tossed the giant bag of Schmeckles into the trunk – there was easily enough there to buy Morty a car when he was old enough or perhaps college tuition. Though knowing Rick, he was also just as likely to gamble it away, or spend it on booze.
Rick hopped back up in the driver's seat and shut the door, immediately raising an eyebrow at the pathetic sight in the passenger's seat next to him - Morty was doubled over in pain and curled up in a tight ball. The ship's cabin ambient temperature felt like it was on fire in there, yet Morty was still shivering.
"H-hey, uh..." Rick began awkwardly as he placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder. That feeling of guilt had returned with a vengeance. "You OK there, Morty?" He couldn't think of anything more useful to say. He had always been really bad at wording the whole caring thing.
Morty said nothing except for a pitiful whimper in reply. He swallowed hard - he could taste bile in the back of his throat and powerful waves of nausea were now searing through his gut like burning fire.
"It's OK, you know." Rick's voice was calm and quiet. He was scowling at himself again. "We can go home if you want. You're the boss now, I'm done with this miserable hole of a planet."
"Rick, I-" Morty never finished his sentence - his stomach gave a sudden heave to make sure of that. He sat bolt upright and hurriedly opened the door, then bent over the side of the vehicle.
Morty crouched over the side of the ship and he began to violently throw up the contents of his stomach. He remained like that for the best part of five minutes, not being able to do much else except stay there in a pathetic leaned-over position while he continued to loudly retch and regurgitate the remains of whatever was in his stomach.
Rick just stared at him throughout the process, mentally berating himself. "Yeeeep, he wasn't lying. Great job dummy, now you got a sick kid on your hands. You should have never brought him here." He folded his arms and scowled off to the side, frustrated. If he had only left Morty at home, his mother would be taking care of him now, or something like that.
After Morty was done, he slumped forward lifelessly – his bout of vomiting seemed to have sapped all the energy from him and the pain had been so intense he had passed out.
"Whoa!" Rick sprang forwards and promptly grabbed Morty by the arm before he fell out of the vehicle, pulling him back into the seat. "Huh, that's weird. Wonder what made him so sick." His curiosity was getting the better of him now, so he then peered out the other side of the vehicle, wondering what had made Morty so sick.
His next observation made his heart skip a beat - the vomit on the ground had streaks of blood in it.
"No..." Rick hissed at himself. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" He hastily stretched across the cabin to slam Morty's door. "Damn it!" He slammed a fist against the steering wheel as his mind raced through the options in his next plan of action. "Vomit never needs to have blood in it... vomit NEVER needs to have blood in it. You're a fucking idiot!"
He pressed several buttons on the console and a small computer screen on tiny hydraulic mechanisms glided out of the middle. He immediately switched it to voice-activation mode.
"Computer," He growled at it as he flicked several other buttons while he spoke, causing the ship to take off. "Where's the nearest hospital NOT under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Federation?" He stood on the accelerator, pushing it to the floor as the ship rocketed off into the atmosphere. In no time at all the ship was back in space.
"Working." The computer replied in a monotone voice. After another moment, it flashed up with several purple dots. They shimmered across the screen. "17 known hospitals found."
"Great," Rick hissed back at it. "How many of those actually know what a human is? I'm not trusting s-so-some dumb ignorant asshole alien with my grands-UURP-on if they don't even know what he is."
"Working." The computer replied again. "3 known hospitals found. Displaying co-ordinates now."
Rick reached out and tapped the nearest one. He stomped on the accelerator again, although he had already pushed it to the floor during takeoff. He was was a mixture of anxious and worried, and incredibly angry at himself. Outwardly though, he kept calm, sans for the deep scowl on his face.
Meanwhile, Morty was slowly coming back to. He made an uncomfortable groan and slowly curled up once again.
"Hang in there, buddy." Rick's own voice betrayed him – no matter how cold he tried to sound, concern etched the edge of his tone. "We're gonna fix this. You'll be fine." He knew full-well he was saying it more for his own benefit than for Morty's.
Morty said nothing in reply, though he was entirely unconvinced.
To Be Continued...
