AN: Hello, everyone. I would like to thank you all for your continued support in Rick and the Louds and to answer why I chose Luan for the last chapter. It was mostly because I mentioned earlier that I wanted to do at least one chapter that revolved around each of the Loud kids, with little to no involvement from Lincoln, and I thought that Luan was overdue. Also, it wouldn't have been as powerful to have Luna, Lynn, and Lincoln comfort Lori, since aside from Leni, Lincoln is the only one she has any noticeable interaction with.

Now then, the adventure continues!

Rick and the Louds

Chapter 9: Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind

Loud House 1st Floor (Dining Room) 9:23 AM

It was an atypical Wednesday morning in the Loud house where Rick, Rita, and Dante enjoyed breakfast with the elder Loud children at the adult table while the youngest ate in the dining room at the kiddie table. Surprisingly, Rick managed to pull some strings that allowed Lincoln to eat with them. While Lincoln had, a terrible experience eating dinner with them several months ago, breakfast was a different matter since they all enjoyed French toast and scrambled eggs. While it was unexpected to have breakfast on a school day when it was supposed to start soon, it was a snow day, so the kids didn't have to worry about school.

"So, does anyone know what day it is tomorrow?" Dante asked excitedly.

"Thursday?" Lori guessed.

"A shopping day?!" Leni shrieked excitedly.

"Lucy's birthday?" Luna and Lincoln asked simultaneously.

"The day you conceived Lola and Lana?" Luan raunchily asked, which made the entire group groan in disgust.

"Yes, no, yes, no." Dante answered, respectively. He then formed a jovial smile and embraced Rick lovingly. "It's also the nine-year anniversary of my dad permanently coming back into our lives!"

"Yeah, and it's going to be awesome! I can't wait to show Sugar Bat what I got for her birthday!" Rick replied sincerely as he returned his son's embrace.

"It's not going to be some weird alien artifact, is it?" Rita guessed, which made Rick form a sheepish expression.

"Not an…artifact." Rick answered as he discretely hid a small, growling crate underneath the table.

"Well, whatever. I'm sure that Lucy's going to love it as much as our gifts!" Lincoln said encouragingly.

"It's not just Lucy's party, dad. I'm going to make you some flying saucer-shaped pancakes tomorrow morning." Dante said sincerely.

"Oh, th-th-there's no need to do that, son. Regular pancakes are fine." Rick obliviously answered, only for a green portal to open on the right side of the dining room table.

Suddenly, two figures emerged from it, a Rick and a young boy that they hadn't seen before. The Rick looked almost exactly like Rick, only with dark circles under his eyes, a small scar on the right side of his mouth and lips, and wore a black shirt underneath his white lab coat.

The young boy appeared to be fourteen with short brown hair, fair skin, and had an eyepatch over his right eye. He wore a yellow t-shirt, blue pants, and white shoes.

Unexpectedly, the Rick had a laser pistol in his hands while the young boy had a tranquilizer gun strapped to his chest with a black bandolier.

Suddenly, the Rick reloaded his laser pistol before nonchalantly firing it at Rick's head, which killed him instantly, much to the family's shock. The young boy quickly unstrapped the tranquilizer gun from his back and fired a dart at Lincoln, which hit the white-haired boy in his left shoulder. Lincoln stayed conscious for a few seconds before he succumbed to the dart's effect, which allowed the alternate Rick and young boy to kidnap him as they ran into the portal, mere moments before it closed.

Loud House 1st Floor (Dining Room) 5:00 PM

Given the fact that the kids had to go to school today, Lucy's birthday officially began after Dante and Rita arrived home from their respective jobs. Fortunately, Rick had taken the liberty of decorating most of the house while the kids were away at school, much to their relief since it was always a hassle for any of their birthdays.

Since it was for Lucy, the balloons were black, the cake was chocolate with black-and-white frosting, and the banner was black with white letters spelling out, "Happy birthday, Lucy!".

"Wow. It's enough to make me smile." Lucy monotonously stated as she formed a small smile.

"Well, it's not over yet, Sugar Bat. You still have your presents." Rick sincerely stated as he gestured for his remaining grandchildren to give their gifts to her, except for Lily.

Lucy formed a rare, happy expression as she opened her presents and received: a black cell phone case with a skull pattern from Lori, a new black dress from Leni, a set of purple, gothic headphones from Luna, a dark humor joke book from Luan, the latest Vampire Requiem novel from Lincoln, a hand-made metal crucifix from Lana, and a set of black Mary Janes from Lola.

"Guys, these are amazing. Thank you." Lucy said sincerely as her siblings embraced her in a loving hug. Rick politely coughed, which made them end their embrace to focus on him.

"Like I said before, 'It's not over yet'." Rick stated as Dante and Rita gave Lucy their gift; a set of poems by Edgar Allan Poe, which almost made the goth girl weep with joy. It was already an honor to have the same birthday, but this was beyond anything she'd expected as a gift.

"I…I love you guys." Lucy said as she lovingly embraced her parents, which they returned.

"We love you too, Lucy." Dante and Rita said simultaneously.

"Hey, come on. I love Lucy, too." Rick stated and then said, "I also care for The Honeymooners! Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!", which made the rest of the family erupt into a fit of laughter.

"Good one, grandpa!" Luan praised, appreciating his wordplay.

"Thanks, Cutie Clown. But in all seriousness, Lucy needs to see my gift." Rick said as he pulled out the same, growling crate from underneath the dining room table and handed it to her. Lucy gasped in amazement when she saw a black-furred fox cub with icy blue eyes and a silver collar around his neck.

"Grandpa, what is this?" Lucy asked, amazed by the creature's appearance.

"This is an alien fox that's like Earth's extinct Falkland Islands Wolf, only with genuine predatory instincts. I-I don't remember what his species is though." Rick explained, only for Lucy to nonchalantly take it out of its cage and embrace it.

"Hmm, I think I'll call him…Edwin Jr." Lucy said as she lovingly petted the alien fox, which made it howl in content, much to the joy of the rest of the Loud family.

"Enjoying your birthday, Sugar Bat?" Rick asked sincerely.

"Definitely, grandpa. I wish I could've been around to see more of you." Lucy replied lovingly, only for a familiar green portal to open on the right side of the dining room.

Suddenly, three Ricks appeared, all clad in a similar garb to Rick. However, they wore black boots, black gloves, and matching epaulets on their white lab coats. Emblazoned on their lab coats' left sleeves was a triangular symbol with an 'R' in the middle, which matched the silver badges on their right abdomens. While they all had a holstered gun, strapped to their right legs, only the ones on the left and right carried strange rifles.

"Rick Sanchez of Earth Dimension 0006-L, you are under arrest for crimes against alternate Ricks by the authority of the Trans-Dimensional Council of Ricks!" the middle Rick declared as the ones left and right Ricks aimed their rifles at Rick.

"Hey, you can't just barge in here! It's my sixth daughter's birthday!" Rita yelled defiantly.

"Neutralize the lame, female Jerry." Middle-Guard Rick ordered nonchalantly.

"Wait, what?!" Rita said incredulously as the Left-Guard Rick fired his rifle at her, which froze Rita instantly.

"Mom!" the Loud siblings yelled in concern.

"Dad!" Dante yelled incredulously at Rick.

"Okay, everyone should relax. If I know these A-holes and I sort of am these A-holes, they just want me to haul to their stupid interdimensional clubhouse and waste my time with a bunch of questions." Rick explained with a bored nonchalance and soon said, "Let's get this over with."

"Bring his [burp] Lincoln." Middle-Guard Rick ordered, which made Rick form an angered expression as the others complied.

"Leave my Lincoln out of this! You A-holes couldn't even wait until the party was over?!" Rick angrily stated as Left-Guard Rick and Right-Guard Rick put him and Lincoln in handcuffs.

"You lost your right for such pleasantries when you refused to join the Council. In fact, he's not the only one who's going with you." Middle-Guard Rick said smugly.

"W-W-Wait. What are you talking about?" Rick asked, confused, and then looked at Lucy, who'd been on the verge of tears after Rita was frozen. "Oh, come on, heartless pricks. Not her; it's her birthday!"

"We aren't talking about your Lucy. Take the Lisa." Middle-Guard Rick ordered as Right-Guard Rick put her in handcuffs as well.

"Unhand me, interdimensional imposters!" Lisa yelled defiantly as Right-Guard Rick held her by her sweater collar with his right hand while he pushed Lincoln with his left hand into the portal.

However, before they could enter the portal, Lori stepped in front of it and was joined with the rest of her siblings, all of whom had defiant expressions on their faces.

"Oh, no you don't! You're literally not taking our family anywhere!" Lori declared only for Left-Guard Rick to aim his Freeze Rifle at the group.

"If you are attempting to obstruct justice, you will all be incarcerated! This is your only warning!" Middle-Guard Rick declared, to no avail.

"If you take them, I'm going to shove that rifle right up your…!"

"Lori, it's okay!" Rick yelled placatingly. "I don't want the rest of you guys risking your lives for me."

"But, grandpa…" Lucy trailed off.

"Hey, don't worry, Sugar Bat. I'll be out of there in no time and when I come back, we'll continue the party." Rick said reassuringly to Lucy, which made her form a bittersweet smile.

The group looked at the alternate Ricks for a few moments before they reluctantly stood down, all of whom had saddened expressions as they moved out of the way. With that, the alternate Ricks, Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa started to enter the portal, only for Dante to interrupt them.

"What about Rita?!" Dante requested anxiously.

"Oh, right. Can you at least unfreeze my son's bitch of a wife?" Rick halfheartedly requested to Middle-Guard Rick as they jumped into the portal.

With that, Middle-Guard Rick complied and fired a blast from his Freeze Pistol at Rita, which instantly thawed her out mere moments before he stepped into the closing portal.

Citadel of Ricks (Unknown Time)

When the group stepped out of the portal, they were in a large building located within an orange-brown nebula, with a central glass dome and three separate, smaller domes protruding from it. Several metallic plates extended from the bottom, presumably housing machinery used to keep the building in stable flight.

The interior of the building had a mixture of metal structures and natural fauna, with numerous fountains trees with several curved buildings. The group had arrived in front of a large statue depicting an unspecified Rick, sitting in a central column.

"Whoa, what is this place grandpa?" Lincoln asked, amazed.

"This is a scientist's dream! Are we in an artificial construct in the middle of a nebula?!" Lisa asked excitedly.

"Yeah, but it's sort of like neutral dimensional ground in the multiverse. Welcome to the Citadel of Ricks. It's the secret headquarters for the Council of Ricks." Rick explained as they walked towards wherever the Guard Ricks were taking them. Amazingly, as they walked they saw several alternate versions of Rick and Lincoln conversing, apparently ignoring them.

"Wait, a Council of Ricks?" Lincoln asked.

"As you kids should have inferred by now, I have a lot of enemies in the universe that consider my intelligence a threat." Rick explained as he started to list the ones he meant. "Galactic terrorists, a few sub-galactic dictators, and most of the entire inter-galactic government to name a few. Basically, w-w-wherever you find people with head up their butts, someone wants a piece of your grandpa."

"So, how'd this happen?" Lisa asked, intrigued by the several alternate versions of Rick and Lincoln that had been walking around the citadel. Although, she had been confused with some that had an unfamiliar fourteen-year-old boy with short brown hair.

"Well, a lot of different versions of me on different timelines had the same problem." Rick continued as the group stepped onto an escalator that took them to the Council-level floor of the citadel. "So, a few thousand versions of me had the ingenious idea of banding together," Rick yelled spitefully to the other Ricks, before he calmed down and said, "like a herd of cattle, or a school of fish, or those weird and sometimes helpful guys on Yahoo! Answers."

"Ah, cool. Check out that version of me!" Lincoln said in amazement, referring to a passing version of him and Rick. While they were clad in their usual outfits, they each had blue fur, blue hair, glowing yellow eyes, fangs, a tail, and pointed ears.

"Yeah, that timeline's pretty nice. So, most timelines have a Rick and most Ricks have a Lincoln. This place is the ultimate who's who of who's you and me." Rick remarked, only for a suited Rick to suddenly approach them.

"Hey, turn your boring, old Lincoln into a hot, fashion statement, with some Lincoln-Dazzlers!" a Salesman Rick offered as he held several different-colored medals, each one with Lincoln's face, only for Rick to blow him off.

"Hey, check this out!" a different Salesman Rick offered as he held out a plush Lincoln doll, which declared, "Show me the Lincoln!", in Lincoln's voice, only for Rick to blow him off as well.

"Excuse me, sir. Is your Lincoln or one of his siblings uninsured?" a different Salesman Rick as he held out a paper that depicted Lincoln and his sister's faces at the top. "Statistically speaking, every year, hundreds of Lincolns and his siblings are…"

"Back off my grandkids!" Rick declared spitefully, much to the last Salesman Rick's displeasure. He then stared at Lincoln and Lisa apologetically and said, "Sorry if I'm not acting like myself, kids. It's just that this place isn't my cup of tea."

"Does this have something to do with what you said during our last mission with Lucy?" Lincoln asked.

"A little. Remember, I said that that the point of being a Rick is being a Rick." Rick explained, only for Middle-Guard Rick to suddenly join in on the conversation.

"Save your anti-Rick speech for the Council of Ricks, terror-Rick." Middle-Guard Rick said tersely, apparently insulting him.

"Hey, save your Rick-rules for the sheep-Ricks, Rick-pig." Rick retorted similarly.

"Screw me, buddy." Middle-Guard Rick said spitefully.

"Screw you?! No, no, no, screw me!" Rick retorted incredulously as they stood in front of a large, golden, metallic door with the Council of Rick's symbol in the middle, which opened when they arrived.

Citadel of Ricks (Council Room) Unknown Time

As they entered the room, they saw a large gathering of alternate Ricks and Lincolns, with a few having that strange, brown-haired boy. Even stranger, some of the brown-haired boys were clad in an identical outfit to the Guard Ricks. Their eyes quickly ventured at the large, golden councilor chairs which had six alternate Ricks in them, all of whom were behind a large, golden desk with the Council of Rick's symbol. They each wore white coats with a golden trim and the Council of Rick's symbol on their left pectorals. They also wore brown gloves and boots, each with a gold trim.

However, each of these Ricks had a differing hairstyle to differentiate themselves. The first one had a large puff of hair on top, with the sides and back of his head shaved; the second one had a puffier hairstyle that took up the back of his head; the third one had long, shoulder-length hair; the fourth one had a swirly hairstyle; the fifth one was bald on top, but had hair on the side and a beard that missed the middle part of his moustache; the sixth and last one had hair that resembled three spikes and a long soul patch.

The group was led into the middle of the room when the Middle-Guard Rick said, "Presenting the spokesperson for the Council of Ricks, Riq IV!"

"Thank you. Bring up the holograms!" Riq IV commanded as two Guard Ricks operated a nearby console that activated a large, blue screen in front of the council. Soon enough, it depicted several Ricks that were apparently murdered, which Rick prevented Lisa from seeing as Lincoln looked at it in mere confusion.

"Twenty-seven Ricks, brutally murdered in their own timelines. An unprecedented Rick-icidal epidemic. What say you, Earth Rick 0006-L?" Riq IV accused.

"You seriously think that I did this?!" Rick asked incredulously. "Compared to the rest of you jerks, I'm a saint!"

"Exactly! You are too nice to be a Rick above suspicion, which is probably why you murdered your fellow Ricks; because they weren't as good as you! Besides, you wouldn't have been able to do it alone, which is why you let your Lincoln and Lisa help you!" Riq IV harshly accused.

"They had nothing to do with this alleged crime! At least I didn't ruin a little girl's birthday party just to bring in someone who wouldn't be willing to do this! And I'm not the only good Rick in the multiverse! Why isn't The Scientist Formerly Known as Rick here is handcuffs?!" Rick angrily asked.

"Because he's dead, too!" Riq IV revealed as he pointed to a hologram of the Prince-like Rick, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head and his new status; deceased.

Rick gasped in shock, but that did nothing to deter Riq IV's accusations. "Who else would you have us question? You fit the profile! Of all the Ricks in the central finite curve, you have always been too nice for your own good, and that's why you killed them. You did everyone a favor with Douchebag Rick, but the others are inexcusable!"

"No, I'm a Rick. And so were the rest of you jerks before you made this stupid alliance!" Rick yelled defiantly as he approached the councilor's bench. "You wanted to be safe from the government, so you became a stupid government. That literally makes every Rick allied with you less Rick than me!"

Apparently, Rick's protest had struck a nerve with the onlooking alternate Ricks as they began to share murmurs of discontent. However, Rick harshly interrupted them.

"Yeah, murmur it up, D-Bags. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a birthday party to get back to, so unless you have evidence to keep me here, we're going back home!" Rick declared as he led Lincoln and Lisa towards the exit.

However, Riq IV formed a smug expression and said, "Evidence; what a grand idea. Scan his portal gun!"

With that, one of the Guard Ricks took Rick's portal gun from his left coat pocket, with Rick eyeing his grandkids in concern.

"Oh, come on. You can't show another Rick's portal gun history in front of the kids. W-W-We all go to weird places when we get lonely." Rick begged as they inserted the portal gun into the slot for it in the console, which changed the screen to depict all the dimensions Rick had traveled to, some even before Lincoln.

"Yes, but it appears that you have been going alone to the timelines where the murders occurred." Riq IV accused as the ones with a murdered Rick glowed red, much to Rick's shock.

"That's Rick-diculous! There's no way that's right! I'm clearly being set up!" Rick defiantly retorted.

"Earth Rick 0006-L, the Council of Ricks sentences you and your accomplices to the Machine of Unspeakable Doom, which swaps your conscious and unconscious minds, rendering your fantasies pointless, while everything you know becomes impossible to grasp!" Riq IV declared, only to form a sheepish expression. "Also, every ten seconds it stabs your balls and/or labia."

"I've heard enough." Rick deadpanned as he effortlessly dislocated his wrists to free himself from the handcuffs before relocating them and taking a Guard Rick's Freeze Pistol, which he used to free Lincoln and Lisa from their handcuffs.

"Let's get out of here, kids!" Rick yelled fearfully as he took a terrified Lisa and ran alongside a frightened Lincoln, but not before he retrieved his portal gun from the console.

As they ran through the corridors of the citadel, several Guard Ricks appeared to stop them, each carrying a Freeze Rifle. Rick safely tucked Lisa underneath his left arm as he fired random portals at their attackers, which slowed them down with interdimensional hazards.

They soon came to a dead-end, which was only because it ended several floors up, but Rick was undeterred as he put Lisa on his back and grabbed Lincoln by his shirt collar. Rick breathed deeply and asked them both, "Do you trust me?"

Lincoln and Lisa stared at their grandfather for a few moments before they gave him a silent nod, which made the elderly scientist smile. It lasted for a few moments before he said, "Then, hang on!"

With that, Rick ran towards the end of the corridor and jumped, which made Lincoln and Lisa yell in fear as Rick fired a random portal onto a neighboring glass dome where they would've crashed. Lincoln and Lisa yelled as they all entered the random dimension.

Dimension CL-201 (Rick's Lab) 2:04 PM

"Why won't you just let me help you?" CL-201 Rick concernedly asked his Luan, who was inexplicably in a wheelchair. He had been apparently showing her a schematic of cybernetic legs on a chalkboard.

"Besides the fact that it'll probably kill me?! It's wrong!" CL-201 Luan retorted to her Rick, before she formed an angered expression and shouted, "It's your fault I'm even in this stupid chair in the first place! I might be the least religious person in the family, since I like girls, but there's some things that I think only God should do!"

"Like give you a frothy vagina?!" CL-201 Rick asked incredulously, only for him and his Luan to form embarrassed expressions.

"Please tell me you mean the ability to get a frothy vagina." CL-201 Luan begged.

"Sure, let's go with that." CL-201 Rick said quickly, only for the portal that contained Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa to appear overhead, which deposited them in the middle of the room. Aside from a minor discomfort in Rick's legs, the group was unharmed as he released Lincoln and formed a sheepish expression at the alternate Rick.

"Oh, sorry, bro. Just running from the Council, again." Rick nonchalantly stated to CL-201 Rick.

"Tell me about it. You better run." CL-201 Rick advised as Rick complied and ran out the door with his grandkids. Rick then made another portal that his group jumped into, unaware that several surviving Guard Ricks came through their previous portal and went into the new one.

Dimension SL-304 (New York City) 3:06 PM

"There's nowhere you can't hide from me, my old friend." A muscular, African-American man said with a black afro, clad in a silver jumpsuit with a matching domino mask and a blue lightning bolt symbol on his chest.

"I'm done running, Clyde. This is how it ends!" a muscular, Caucasian man said with short, white hair, clad in an identical, orange jumpsuit with a matching domino mask and a red lightning bolt symbol on his chest.

With that, the alternate Clyde and Lincoln ran at each other at lightning-fast speeds, with each clash sending surges of lightning throughout the city, which endangered several passersby. The two titans of speed were so enthralled by their battle that they neglected Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa emerge from a nearby portal and hastily opened another one, narrowly avoiding the lightning strikes from their battle.

Fortunately, some of the Guard Ricks weren't as lucky as a few of them were disintegrated when they attempted to enter the new portal.

Dimension XT-001 (South Gate Park) 12:02 PM

"I can't believe it's been seven years since I proposed to you in this park before the S-Class Exam, Erza." A twenty-six-year-old mutant said wistfully in a soft, German accent as he sat with his wife on a park bench. He had blue fur, short blue hair, glowing yellow eyes, a pair of fangs, three fingers, two toes, a tail, and pointed ears. He wore a simple orange shirt, black jeans, but remained barefoot.

"I know, Kurt. It's hard to believe so much has changed, but I've never regretted it. After all, we wouldn't have been around if you hadn't teleported us off Tenrou Island." The twenty-six-year-old Erza said as she gave her loving husband a kiss on his left cheek. Erza has long red hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and a figure that most girls would've killed for. She wore her familiar white blouse, a knee-length blue skirt, and brown shoes.

"You're everything to me, Erza Wagner. I'm just glad we got to see our kids grow up." Kurt said lovingly as the duo stared at their four, seven-year-old kids happily playing in the park.

The oldest, Talia, resembled their father immensely except she had blue hair stylized into a pixie cut, her father's yellow eyes, but they looked normal because of her mother's genes, and complete set of fingers and toes. She wore a purple t-shirt, black shorts, and matching shoes.

The second-oldest, Robert, also resembled their father, only he had normal brown eyes. Aside from that and his short, red hair, he looked exactly like Talia. He wore a purple polo shirt, black jeans, and white tennis shoes.

The third-oldest, Nick, resembled their mother almost exactly, except for his short, red hair and his unique, hidden fangs. He wore a purple undershirt, blue jeans, and black shoes.

The youngest, Cerise, resembled their mother except she had long, blue hair that concealed her heterochromia; her right eye was brown, but her left eye was yellow. She wore a light purple dress with matching Mary Janes.

"Hmm, you want to stop by the guild, see our old friends?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that. It's a miracle that Natsu finally started a family with Juvia and Gray with Lapis. I'm just glad that having kids mellowed them out." Kurt stated.

"It's a shame that Lucy still hasn't found someone." Erza remarked sadly.

"Yeah, but I think she's happier like that. Besides, she's got the Guild's kids including Gajeel and Levy's." Kurt replied, attempting to make her smile.

"I suppose that's right. I love you, Mr. Wagner." Erza said affectionately.

"And I love you, Ms. Scarlet." Kurt replied similarly, using Erza's maiden name.

With that, the married couple enjoyed a passionate kiss, unaware that Rick's group emerged from a nearby portal.

"Oh, crap! It's the canon future of the author's only other good story that may or may not be abandoned!" Rick yelled fearfully, much to Lincoln and Lisa's confusion.

"Wait, what?" Lincoln and Lisa asked, only for Rick to open another portal.

"It's not important! Let's go!" Rick yelled quickly as they ran into the new portal.

Dimension DD-44 12:00 PM

Suddenly, Rick's group wound up in a Dr. Seuss-esque world with several large hybrid creatures of dodo birds and camels surrounding the lush, green field they emerged into. The native creatures repeatedly said variations of the fictional word, 'doopidoo' as Rick opened several other portals in random locations to throw the Guard Ricks off their tracks. After creating six portals, Rick's group leapt into the first one.

Thankfully, Rick's plan worked as several Guard Ricks emerged from portals of their own and moaned in exasperation when they saw Rick's numerous decoy portals. Strangely, they were unaware when a mysterious pen, pad, and a coffee mug emerged from one of the decoy portals.

Dimension CH-782 (Chair Arms Apartments 5th Floor) 1:22 PM

It had been a normal day for Gary and Barry as they sat in their human chairs while Gary dialed the pizza phone for their usual order, which was thankfully accommodating for the fingerless Chair People.

"Yes, I'd like to order one large phone with extra phones please." Gary requested.

"Cell phone, no, no, rotary, and payphone on half!" Barry pleaded before the order was finished.

Suddenly, Gary and Barry gasped when Rick's group emerged in their living room, with Rick ignoring them, but Lincoln and Lisa staring in shock at the sentient sofa chairs.

"That should keep them busy for a while." Rick stated as he nonchalantly left the apartment, with Lincoln and Lisa following a few moments of equal shock with Gary and Barry.

Dimension CH-782 (Chair City) 1:30 PM

After leaving their apartment, Rick's group had ventured into the city to buy some time from the Guard Ricks. As such, Lincoln and Lisa finally had the opportunity to ask Rick about what was going on.

"Those guys were just blowing smoke, right? You wouldn't kill alternate versions of yourself, grandpa." Lincoln remarked.

"Of course, not, Lincoln. I only kill other Ricks if they endanger you or your siblings. But, someone out there is killing Ricks and the Council won't stop thinking that it's me unless we clear our names; by finding the real Rick-killer." Rick explained, ignoring the incredulous stares of the Chair People he, Lincoln, and Lisa were receiving.

"As fascinated as I am by the inhabitants of this dimension, I do believe that some explanation is needed now." Lisa stated, after she composed herself from the initial shock.

"What else do you need to know, Little Poindexter?" Rick asked.

"I couldn't help but notice how some of those Rick's didn't have Lincolns; they had a different boy who was a little older with short, brown hair. Care to explain?" Lisa said as she narrowed her eyes at Rick.

"Hey, that's right. I thought it was some weird, male version of Luan, but he didn't really look like her. What's going on, grandpa?" Lincoln asked, his curiosity piqued.

Rick took a deep breath and said, "Oh, geez. I knew I had to tell you eventually, but I wasn't sure how you'd take it."

"Take what, grandpa?" Lincoln asked.

"Lincoln, those were Mortys. They're the usual grandsons of Ricks, but sometimes, we get Lincolns like you." Rick explained and then put a loving hand on Lincoln's left shoulder. "And I'm really happy I got one of you."

With that, Lincoln formed a small smile, which made Lisa form one of her own, only for hers to quickly turn into a fearful expression.

"Wait, what about our family?! They're still back home; we should go save them!" Lisa yelled desperately.

"Wouldn't do any good, Lisa. By now, the house is swarming with Ricks…and who knows what sort of things are going on there." Rick replied, somewhat nervously.

Loud House 1st Floor (Living Room) 6:00 PM

After their escape from the citadel, several Guard Ricks commandeered the Loud house for their base of operations. The remaining Loud siblings and Rita reluctantly obeyed the alternate Ricks, but Lucy was more angered with what they'd done to her Rick; she would've given up today if it meant having Rick back.

The Ricks had been busy setting up their equipment, which included a tracer in the Loud house phone, while Dante stayed in the kitchen, cooking something that would helpfully placate these Ricks.

"Okay, if your Rick calls, this device will allow us to trace his location, Rita. You just need to keep him on the line for thirty seconds or longer." A Guard Rick stated as Dante emerged from the kitchen, carrying two trays of pink, frosted cupcakes.

"Who wants cupcakes?" Dante asked as he served the grateful Guard Ricks, who smiled at him.

"Oh, delicious." A different Guard Rick complimented as he ate one of the cupcakes.

"Dante, you're a godsend." Another Guard Rick said similarly.

"I have a Dante just like you in my reality, except, you know what? He's not as brilliant or handsome!" another Guard Rick added affectionately.

"Aw, thank you!" Dante said sincerely and then formed a curious expression. "So, uh, think this is enough for you not to punish my dad or kids?"

Suddenly, the jovial expressions of the Guard Ricks fell with one of them tersely saying, "Not by a long shot, son."

The situation grew direr when the phone started to ring, much to Rita's shock as she reluctantly grabbed the phone as some of the Guard Ricks aimed Freeze Rifles at her.

"Um, hello?" Rita asked nervously.

"Hey, Rita. It's Rick." Rick said on the phone.

"Rick, uh, hey! What's going on? How are the kids?" Rita asked.

"They're fine. Listen, the heat's on and there's nowhere left to turn, so I just wanted to clear something up; are you cool with me, Lincoln, and Lisa piloting my ship into the sun?" Rick nonchalantly asked, which made Rita form a concerned expression.

"Wait, what?!" Rita asked incredulously.

"I figured I might as well ask since we're crashing into it right now." Rick remarked.

"Rick, no! My babies!" Rita yelled, horrified, which were amplified with similar expressions from the remaining Loud siblings and Dante.

"We got it! The call's coming from…inside the house!" a Guard Rick mocked as another Guard Rick emerged from the kitchen, holding the phone he used to make that fake call.

"Oh, god! Look at her face, her stupid face!" the Guard Rick that told her about the call said as the rest of them erupted into a large fit of laughter.

"I can't believe our son married you." Another Guard Rick stated as another one hit her in the face with an apple pie.

As they continued laughing, they were oblivious to the angered expressions of the remaining Loud family, especially as Lynn took out an emergency pair of Rick's brass knuckles from underneath the couch, only for Leni to reluctantly stop her.

Dimension CH-782 (McChairs) 1:45 PM

Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa entered a local diner where Rick started to tinker with the portal gun.

"Okay, the Ricks are going to spend some time messing with your mom; that'll buy us some time. Still, they'll get bored and they'll come after us." Rick stated as their chair waiter arrived with their orders.

"Okay, that's a phone-burger with extra phones, phone-spaghetti with phone-balls, and phone salad with cellphone dressing. Anything else?" the chair waiter asked as he served Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa their respective orders.

"Yeah, more phone-sticks, please." Rick requested as he held out phone-shaped bread in a basket.

"Right away, sir." The chair waiter said as he left to fulfill Rick's request.

"You know after I saw so many of those Ricks with Lincolns I thought that devalued our bond, but it must be pretty special to span over all those different timelines." Lincoln said happily.

"Why wouldn't it be? You're a camo…" Rick stated, only to immediately cut himself off. Unfortunately, Lincoln and Lisa heard the hesitation in his voice, but Lisa was the one to break the silence.

"What were you about to say, grandpa?" Lisa asked tersely.

"Yeah, what were you about to say about me?" Lincoln asked, somewhat angered.

"Ugh, me and my big mouth." Rick lamented and then stated, "You're a camouflage."

"Wait, what?" Lincoln asked, somewhat hurt.

Rick took a deep breath and said, "Okay, it works like this; Ricks have a very traceable brainwave due to our genius. The best way to hide from an enemy's radar is to stand next to someone with complimentary brainwaves that make ours invisible." Rick then took out a pen from his right coat pocket and began to draw frequencies on a nearby napkin. "You see, w-w-when a Rick is standing next to any variation of Morty, the genius waves get cancelled out by the, in your case, Lincoln-waves."

"Uh, what does that mean?" Lincoln asked, more concerned with his relationship to Rick. Lisa had a somewhat concerned expression on her face, but she was relieved that at least she was spared.

"Hey, don't take it the wrong way. Your sisters amplify the signal immensely, which is why most Ricks would prefer to have a Lincoln." Rick bluntly explained, only to backpedal when he noticed Lisa's crestfallen expression.

"Oh, geez. Look, you know that I…" Rick trailed off, only for his portal gun to start beeping. As Rick analyzed the results, he gasped in amazement. "We got it! My portal gun was hacked remotely, obviously by the real killer to frame me. But, I've got the signal, so let's go!"

Suddenly, the trio noticed two Guard Ricks alongside a Guard Morty enter the restaurant which forced Rick to execute Plan B as they talked to their chair waiter.

"Sir, we're looking for three interdimensional fugitives, one of which resembles me and my friend here, so I'm going to mark each of us with an 'X' so that if it comes down to shooting someone, you'll know which one it is." The Guard Rick said as he followed through on marking them all with a red marker, including the Guard Morty.

"Hey, there they are!" the second Guard Rick declared as they looked at three figures wearing their clothes. Unfortunately, for them, it turned out to be three human chairs Rick's group had hastily dressed.

"Damn it!" the first Guard Rick declared, only to look out the window and saw an underwear-clad Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa hijack their interdimensional police spaceship.

They all ran out in a vain attempt to catch them, only for the chair waiter to angrily come out. "Hey, you freak! You didn't pay!"

"Red 'X', Red 'X'!" the first Guard Rick angrily declared, pointing at his mark with emphasis.

Dimension ERML-2367 (Earth) 3:26 PM

As the arrived to the real killer's Earth after Rick plugged in his portal gun to the cruiser, Rick's group noticed that it hardly resembled their home planet given that it was green with two red, diagonal rings around the planet. They had arrived in a marshy wetland, but not before they had gone to an interdimensional thrift store, which thankfully had exact copies of their clothes in stock.

However, Lincoln and Lisa remained in a tense silence ever since they escaped the Guard Ricks. While they usually knew that Rick cared for them, the revelations on their real purposes made them question everything. Meanwhile, they were unaware that Rick had a remorseful expression on his face and wanted to fix this soon.

"Hey, it's a good thing that the interdimensional thrift store had exact copies of our clothes in stock, huh, kids?" Rick asked nervously.

"We know, grandpa. You don't have to keep saying it." Lincoln replied tersely.

"Indeed. After all, aren't we just glorified human shields?" Lisa accused, which made Rick stop the cruiser.

"Okay, let's get one thing straight here before we go confront the real killer; you kids aren't just human shields to me!" Rick angrily yelled, only to continue his rant. "I've always been there for you kids when you needed me, I've risked my life to keep you safe, I always made it to your birthdays even before I moved in! You kids said that you trusted me, but all this doubt is coming out of nowhere! It doesn't matter what the other Ricks think about you; I love you kids!"

Suddenly, Lincoln and Lisa recognized the sincerity and truth to those words. They looked at Rick in remorse as they came to terms with their behavior. After a few moments, the duo embraced each other before they embraced Rick.

"We're sorry, grandpa." Lincoln and Lisa said remorsefully.

"It's okay, kids. Don't worry about it." Rick replied sincerely as he ended the embrace with a friendly hair tousle to the duo.

With that, Rick resumed driving and found a large, metal dome in the middle of the alternate Earth's swamplands, alongside several screams.

"Oh, my God! There's a bunch of people, strapped to that building!" Lincoln yelled fearfully as they approached the dome.

"Not just people, Lincoln. Mortys and Lincolns." Rick said seriously as they now saw several Mortys and Lincolns strapped to the dome, shackled by their hands and ankles, with a machine strapped to their genitals that prodded their naked abdomens to the point of bleeding.

"Why would anyone do this?! Even I know that's horrible!" Lisa said incredulously, feeling empathy to the alternate versions of her brother.

"Well, one normal Morty is enough to hide from the bureaucrats, but if you have a whole matrix of Mortys and Lincolns and put them in agonizing pain, that creates a signal that can hide you from other Ricks." Rick explained as he parked the cruiser in front of the dome's entrance.

"Wait, how do you even know that?" Lincoln asked.

"Because I've fiddled with the concept a few times." Rick answered, only for Lincoln and Lisa to stare at him incredulously.

"On paper, kids! On paper! I wouldn't do anything like this; it's barbaric overkill. You could accomplish the same result with like one Lincoln, two sisters, and a set of jumper cables." Rick defended, only for Lincoln and Lisa's incredulous stares to increase as they exited the cruiser.

"Which I would also never do! I'm just saying, any Rick worth their salt would agree that its poor and sadistic craftsmanship." Rick replied defensively, which lessened the duo's incredulous stares at their grandfather.

Loud House 1st Floor (Living Room) 6:20 PM

After their cruel prank, the Guard Ricks and any of their Mortys had been waiting patiently in the Loud house for any change in the whereabouts of Rick's group. Given the fact that they were captive, the remaining Loud siblings were confined to their rooms, with Rita angrily working on her unfinished novel on her laptop as she sat on the couch.

As such, she was unaware when a different Rick appeared and smiled at her. This Rick had a bowl-cut hairstyle, buck teeth, and lazy eyes. Aside from that, he looked exactly like Rick. This was Doofus Rick.

"Hi, Rita." Doofus Rick said sincerely.

"Leave me alone! I'm writing!" Rita said tersely, still angered by the Guard Ricks earlier prank.

"You are? W-What are you writing about?" Doofus Rick asked.

"It's…it's just a story I've been trying to write for a long time. It's something to do when I'm not working as a dental assistant." Rita answered bitterly.

"You work as a dental assistant? Wow, so, you help the dentist clean people's teeth?" Doofus Rick asked, amazed as he sat next to her.

"Well, I do a lot more than that." Rita replied.

"Well, you do it and you seem like a smart, successful woman who has it all together with eleven kids." Doofus Rick said sincerely, much to Rita's surprise.

Rita looked around the room in suspicion until she stared incredulously at Doofus Rick. "Hang on, you're being a jerk now, right?"

"Oh, I hope not. I-I-I wouldn't want to offend you in any way." Doofus Rick replied caustically, which only made Rita continue her incredulous stares.

"You're seriously a Rick?" Rita said doubtfully, even though her Rick wasn't a big of jerk to her as the other ones were.

"Of course, I am. Just as much my Lincoln's a Lincoln." Doofus Rick remarked as he waved to his Lincoln, who didn't really resemble him at all. His Lincoln had pale white skin, red eyes, and a set of fangs. He wore a black polo shirt, matching jeans, and shoes. Strangely, he'd been peacefully playing cards with the Guard Mortys and affectionately waved back.

"Uh, he doesn't look anything like you." Rita said bluntly.

"That's right Rita! He's from a dimension where everyone on Earth got turned into vampires! He's Vampire Lincoln!" Doofus Rick said cheerfully, only for his smile to falter when he continued to talk. "The Council assigned him to me because…I never had kids of my own." Doofus Rick said remorsefully, only to regain his smile as he talked to Rita. "But, if I did, I hope that they would've turned out as smart and successful as you, Rita."

"Oh, check it out. Rita's hanging with Doofus Rick." A Guard Rick remarked mockingly to another one.

"Oh, that is priceless!" the other Guard Rick added.

"I'm not Doofus Rick! I'm Rick J-19-Zeta-7!" Doofus Rick said fearfully.

"Oh, you mean the timeline where everyone eats poop?" the first Guard Rick said mockingly. "Rita, you know this dumbass eats poop, right?"

"Hey, I don't eat poop! You guys are always so mean to me!" Doofus Rick poorly retorted as he broke down in tears, much to the amusement of the Guard Ricks who left shortly after.

"I guess it's only fair to tell you now, Rita; Without your Rick's assertiveness, I'm the worst Rick of them all!" Doofus Rick tearfully lamented to her.

"Who has the right to say that; other versions of you?" Rita replied supportively. "If I've learned anything it's that before you get anywhere in life, you have to stop beating yourself up over your shortcomings."

"You're so wise, Rita. I guess that's why you want to become a writer!" Doofus Rick said cheerfully, his tears fading away.

"The fact that you feel that way, makes you the best Rick of them all." Rita said sincerely.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Dome 1st Floor) 3:36 PM

Meanwhile, Rick's group had successfully infiltrated the building and skulked around the corridors to find the real Rick-killer. Still, despite what Rick had said, Lincoln and Lisa were shaken up with the sight of those tortured Mortys and Lincolns, even though they weren't technically related to former.

"Grandpa, you swear that you never did anything like this?" Lincoln asked, uncertainly.

"Yes, Lincoln! I've told you guys that I'd never be willing to do this." Rick replied, only to form a sheepish expression. "Although, it was uncalled for to mention the other stuff I said when we arrived."

"A little, grandfather. Still, we need to solve this mystery so that we can go home." Lisa said.

"Agreed. Now, if we don't make any sudden sounds…"

Suddenly, a loud crunching sound resonated throughout the halls, with Lisa cringing from the fact that it came from a discarded skeleton arm she'd accidentally stepped on. Soon enough, they were surrounded by four large, purple crustacean-like aliens, who approached them menacingly.

"Don't feel bad, Lisa. It could've happened to anyone." Rick said supportively as he started to effortlessly attack the aliens. He elbow-dropped one's claw clean off before he kicked it in the face. Rick then performed a roundhouse kick on the second one and took his claw to beat up the third one before he threw it at the last one.

Rick stared at his small triumph with pride, only for several more of the aliens to come, which made the elderly scientist groan in exasperation. Suddenly, he heard a slow, clapping sound as his evil counterpart arrived with his Morty and his Lisa.

This Lisa had shaggier brown hair, a scar over her left eye, and had an angered scowl on her face. She wore a red sweater, green pants, and black shoes.

"Ooh, look at you 0006-L Rick. Aren't you a tough customer?" Evil Rick mocked as he ended his slow clapping.

"The slow clap? Seriously? Kind of played out, bro." Rick said nonchalantly as he motioned Lincoln and Lisa to stand behind him.

"Not in this dimension it isn't. In fact, I invented it. No one else has done it here, before." Evil Rick said smugly.

"Well, good for you." Rick said sarcastically as he mockingly did his counterpart's slow clap, only to feel Evil Rick's harsh swat to his hands.

"Hey, that's mine!" Evil Rick childishly yelled.

Suddenly, the alien crustaceans captured Rick's group and led them through the base where they would be held for now.

"There's something off about that Rick, kids. We've got to get out of here." Rick whispered to Lincoln and Lisa.

"Yeah, but how?" Lincoln asked.

"I don't have any ideas for how we can escape this, grandpa." Lisa said fearfully.

"Take his Lincoln and Lisa away." Evil Rick commanded to his Morty and Lisa while he went with Rick.

"Come with us." Evil Morty said as the alien lobsters released their grasp on Lincoln and Lisa.

"And what if we refuse?" Lisa said defiantly, only for her counterpart to nonchalantly hold a laser crossbow to her head.

"Then you'll be killed instantly. Come with us." Evil Morty said nonchalantly as Lincoln and Lisa reluctantly followed them.

"Hey, you seem to be a…reasonable guy." Lincoln said placatingly. "Is there any way that you could help us free all those Mortys and Lincolns? They're sort of like versions of us, aren't they?" Lincoln asked Evil Morty as he operated a keypad to their cell.

"It would be pointless. No matter the variation, Mortys don't have a chance of defeating a Rick." Evil Morty said apathetically as the door to their cell opened.

"Get in there, punks." Evil Lisa said as she harshly shoved Lisa and Lincoln into the cell before Evil Morty sealed the door.

Suddenly, Lincoln and Lisa saw several traumatized and starving Mortys and Lincolns staring at them in fear. Lincoln and Lisa held hands as they awaited their uncertain fate.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Evil Rick's Lab) 3:40 PM

Meanwhile, Rick was strapped to a metal table in Evil Rick's lab, which hardly resembled the one he had back home. There was a large screen on the left of Rick that depicted the tortured Lincolns and Mortys, with a console in front of that. Evil Rick stood in front of Rick with a sadistic smile while the alien crustacean that captured him stood on his right.

"Ah, isn't it beautiful?" Evil Rick said sadistically, referring to the images of the tortured Lincolns and Mortys.

"Oh, yeah. It's like Payday at Neverland Ranch here. Zing!" Rick said apathetically, which made the alien crustacean chuckle lightly. "That guy got it."

"Uh, uh, uh, Rick. You're missing my symphony." Evil Rick said as he operated the nearby console, which greatly amplified the screams of the Lincolns and Mortys.

"Hey, I'll take it over Mumford & Sons. Zip!" Rick said with a defiant smile, which made the alien crustacean laugh again. "This guy is on it!"

"He's not laughing at your Luan-level jokes, Rick. That's just a random noise it makes every ten seconds." Evil Rick coldly revealed as the alien crustacean giggled once more, much to Rick's disappointment.

"You see Rick, I wanted you to find me. We might not have the same morals, but we're not so [burp] different." Evil Rick said as he operated the console in front of Rick, which activated a holographic screen, like the one in the Council Room.

"Yeah, that's kind of a given. You know, I never held it against any of you for being royal dicks, okay?" Rick bluntly stated.

"You see here? I created a spectrum of all the Ricks that have existed or ever will exist. I had to crunch the numbers, but I nailed it. I sorted them from most evil to least evil." Evil Rick stated as he found a picture of himself, which was oddly in the middle of the spectrum. "Here's where I am." He then motioned towards the near end of the spectrum and stopped at Rick's picture. "And Right here's where you are, Rick." He then motioned towards a random Rick in-between and said, "This one, super freaky."

"What's the point of all this, jackass?" Rick rudely asked.

"Simple. You are one of the good Ricks, but you have the assertiveness from the rest of them; a rarity even in the multiverse. Which is why I'm going to download the contents of your brain, and then kill you!" Evil Rick revealed, much to Rick's shock.

Loud House 1st Floor (Kitchen) 6:32 PM

"So, if we just add some dehydrated kyrintite and some purified schlebite…" Doofus Rick said as he poured a test tube of a red liquid into a blue one before pouring the purple substance into an empty lasagna pan, which created a piping-hot lasagna almost instantly, "…oven-less lasagna!"

With that, Rita took a small piece and ate it, which made her smile. "It's amazing! This is going to make a great birthday dinner for Lucy!"

"Oh, come on! I can't take all the credit; it was your idea! Come here, Rita!" Doofus Rick said as he lovingly embraced her, which made Rita smile.

"Uh, do I need to remind you that two of our kids are still missing and the rest are confined to their rooms?" Dante asked his wife as he took out the trash from the alternate Ricks' consumption.

"Of course, I haven't. I'm just finally getting along with Rick, like you wanted." Rita remarked, referring to the few times Dante had to get in the middle of Rita and Rick.

"But he's not my dad! He's just an alternate version of him!" Dante pointed out.

"Don't take this from me, honey!" Rita said tersely.

"Whoa, okay. Does someone need a hug?" Doofus Rick asked as he ended his embrace with Rita and embraced Dante, which made him smile.

"Okay, I see what you mean." Dante conceded.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Dome 1st Floor) 3:50 PM

Even though they knew it was pointless, Lincoln and Lisa relentlessly banged on the locked door, attempting to free themselves. Suddenly, they were approached by a small group of Lincolns and Mortys, clad in hooded brown cloaks and red face paint.

"There is no escape my dear children. We will find our peace in the next world." Cult Morty said submissively as he handed them both a pamphlet.

"So, what, you're just giving up?!" Lincoln asked incredulously.

"We're giving in, to the power of the One True Morty. One day, he will return!" Cult Morty said faithfully as he and the rest of the cult removed their hoods, which revealed their shaven heads.

"Hail the One True Morty!" his followers blindly said as Lincoln and Lisa stared at their pamphlets, which were titled The Good Morty.

Lisa opened hers first, which were just pictures of Mortys in comic-strip form, which made her throw it in disgust. Lincoln did the same with his and stood on top of a discarded milk crate to get everyone's attention.

"Listen up, everyone! My name is Lincoln Loud from Earth Dimension 0006-L! I know that you're scared, because I'm scared, but that's no reason to accept our fate!" Lincoln announced confidently. "Morty, Lincoln, it doesn't matter! We're all a family and it's time we showed these jerks what that means!"

"That sounds like something the One True Morty might say. He's right; I'm done living in fear! I want to be a gardener!" a random Morty announced.

"I want to write incredible, intense, Sci-Fi novels!" a foxlike Morty added.

"I want to be a real boy!" a puppet-like Lincoln pleaded.

"I'm more than just a pair of pants!" a giant pair of Lincoln pants added.

"He is the One True Morty, in the form of a Lincoln!" Cult Morty declared as they lifted him up alongside Lisa. "Hail to the One True Morty and his sister!"

Suddenly, one of the crustacean aliens entered the room with an angered expression and surprisingly said, "Hey, keep it down, freaks!"

Aroused by Lincoln's speech, the alternate Mortys and Lincolns ended their praise and violently attacked the alien crustacean before they started to rush and attack the guards throughout the entire base, with Lincoln and Lisa following closely.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Evil Rick's Lab) 4:15 PM

Meanwhile, Rick was forced to wear a device on his head that allowed his memories to be seen on the same holographic screen Evil Rick had shown the alternate Ricks, much to the latter's joy.

"You've lived an amazing life, Rick. It's a shame that you're not going to live to see it through." Evil Rick said sadistically as he gazed at Rick's memories.

Rick stared somberly at some of the highlights: meeting his wife, holding his son for the first time, meeting King Flamel, Birdperson, and Squanchy all those years ago, seeing the births of all his grandchildren and their birthdays; the very sight bringing Rick to tears, much to Evil Rick's disbelief.

"Wait, you're crying; over your family and friends?!" Evil Rick said mockingly.

"No, I'm just allergic to sadistic pricks." Rick badly defended as he continued to cry.

"Ugh, you're pathetic. We both know that the ultimate truth to the multiverse is that Ricks don't care about their families." Evil Rick harshly stated, only for the rampaging Lincolns and Mortys to appear and surround the evil scientist.

"Oh, yeah?! Bring it on you little bastards! You want to kill me, huh?! Do it! Do it!" Evil Rick yelled defiantly as the group relentlessly attacked him until he finally died.

Lincoln and Lisa made it to the lab mere moments after Evil Rick's death and ignored the fact that the group was still pummeling his corpse. As soon as they saw their grandfather, Lincoln and Lisa undid his restraints and hugged him affectionately.

"Thanks, kids. Now, I have two important things to do." Rick said as he reluctantly ended the embrace to free the tortured Mortys and Lincolns from the dome, much to their relief. He then grabbed a nearby phone and inputted the number to make a call back home.

"Hey, what's the best thing I can say right now?" Rick asked smugly to the Guard Rick that answered the phone.

"Huh? Who is this?" the Guard Rick asked, confused.

"I found the real killer bitch! Lock into the dimensional coordinates and come over here!" Rick yelled excitedly as he ended the call, ignorant of the incredulous expression of the Guard Rick.

Loud House 1st Floor (Kitchen) 6:50 PM

Meanwhile, Rita and Dante had been enjoying Doofus Rick's company over coffee, only for a Guard Rick to emerge from the other room and harshly said, "Hey, ding-dong. Pack your things; we're going back."

Doofus Rick had a saddened expression on his face as he put down the coffee mug and stared at the duo apologetically. "Well, Rita and Dante, I guess this is goodbye."

"Wait, does it have to be?!" Rita pleaded desperately.

"I guess so, Rita." Dante said, somewhat saddened.

"No, I mean, he looks just like Rick! We could, you know…" Rita trailed off, only to meet her husband's firm stare and reluctantly stopped herself from finishing that sentence.

"He's right, Rita. It would never work out; I love you guys like you were my own kids." Doofus Rick said sincerely as he embraced them one last time before he left with the Guard Ricks. Rita formed a saddened expression that was somewhat alleviated by her husband's warm embrace.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Evil Rick's Lab) 4:17 PM

Soon enough, scores of Guard Ricks and Mortys arrived through their own portals and gently recaptured the imprisoned Mortys and Lincolns, with a few having to pull the attacking ones off the deceased Evil Rick's body. Surprisingly, all members of the Council arrived to aid the Guard Ricks.

"So, what's going to happen to all these Lincolns and Mortys?" Lincoln asked in concern.

"They'll return to their families, attend school regularly, play videogames, date girls…poor Rick-less little punks." Riq IV solemnly stated, watching his language around Lisa.

Citadel of Ricks (Council's Room) Unknown Time

After they had arranged for all the alternate Mortys and Lincolns to go back to their own dimensions, the Council stood in front of Rick's group as part of a ceremony with the alternate Ricks, Mortys, and Lincolns staring in amazement.

"Earth Rick 0006-L, the Council apologizes for its horrible accusation and in the way of reparations offer you this." Riq IV said as one of the other Council members held out a box that he opened and pulled out a coupon emblazoned with every Loud siblings' face.

"This if a coupon for a free replacement Lincoln and/or one of his siblings if your Lincoln and/or one of his siblings…" Riq IV trailed off, ignoring the incredulous stares Lincoln and Lisa were giving him, which forced Rick to intervene.

"Uh, guys? Not a good time. Let's go home, kids." Rick said to the indignant Lincoln and Lisa, not even bothering to take the coupon behind their backs.

As they exited the Council's Room and made it outside, Lincoln and Lisa started to gush about their adventure.

"Wow, this was the coolest adventure we've ever been on!" Lincoln praised, having calmed down from before.

"Correction: the coolest one we've been on so far." Lisa remarked, even though she was smiling just as hard as Lincoln.

"Yeah, things got crazy back there. I'm just glad that there's still time to make it to Lucy's birthday." Rick remarked, which made Lincoln and Lisa nod in agreement.

"Grandpa, how come you're not like those Ricks?" Lincoln asked curiously.

"I guess it's because I'm not as messed up as they are and I had more reasons to stick around than most Ricks did." Rick revealed as he lovingly embraced the duo. "And it's been the greatest adventure of my life."

With that, Lincoln and Lisa smiled as they ended their embrace, which allowed Rick to create a portal back home in a nearby wall.

Dimension EMRL-2367 (Evil Rick's Lab) 4:55 PM

"'Pride cometh before the fall'. I guess he got what he deserved." A Guard Rick coldly stated as he inspected Evil Rick's corpse while his cohorts ransacked his lab for any of the stolen data he obtained from the other Ricks.

"Wait, what the hell is that?" another Guard Rick stated as he pointed to the deep gash in Evil Rick's head, which had several wires exposed instead of blood.

"Hand me the laser defibulator." The first Guard Rick ordered as he held out his hand for the device.

"Hey, can I help?" Doofus Rick asked eagerly.

"No, go hang around the toilets. Maybe you'll make friends with some turds." The first Guard Rick coldly ordered, which made Doofus Rick comply as he slumped in defeat.

"You make us ashamed to be ourselves!" the second Guard Rick added as he handed the first one a pen-like device.

The first Guard Rick activated the device and properly opened Evil Rick's head with surgical precision. When he removed the top, they saw that his brain was purely cybernetic.

"My god, I've seen this technology before." The second Guard Rick stated, only to instead grab a small device from behind Evil Rick's left eyeball. "This Rick wasn't in control of his actions; controlled by someone else. This is the receiver!"

"Yeah, but who had the transmitter?" the first Guard Rick fearfully asked.

Citadel of Ricks (Transport Terminal) Unknown Time

Meanwhile, Evil Morty and Lisa blended seamlessly into the crowd of alternate Mortys and Lincolns, with Evil Morty certain that he and his Lisa would be above suspicion, so long as they looked the part.

Reluctantly, Evil Morty removed his eyepatch, which was connected to a red wire and blue wire from his eyeball. He then threw the eyepatch device on the ground and coldly smashed it as he discretely hid his cybernetic wires from any prying eyes.

Evil Lisa stared at her big brother anxiously, only for Evil Morty to warmly smile and lovingly carry her as they walked into the crowd of Mortys and Lincolns, grateful that their plan had succeeded.

AN: And now, time to recap.

The alternate dimensions: yeah, I ultimately changed most of them since I wanted to differentiate from the show and for some interesting dimensions that might be properly introduced later. I made the one from my other story in case I can't write for it anymore and to give some closure.

Evil Morty and Lisa: yeah, that was something I added because with infinite possibilities, it's very easy that there's at least one reality where Morty has some of Lincoln's family and vice-versa. They may also reappear, but it's not set in stone.

Introduction of the sister's waves: yeah, it was only because with Rick's canon explanation, it implied that the only reason he came back was for Morty and couldn't have cared less for Summer. It was intended to bring them to even ground and for some drama.

The sister's lack of involvement: yeah, aside from their actions to prevent Rick, Lincoln, and Lisa from being captured, I couldn't really think of anything to do for them after that since most Ricks aren't as nice as theirs and Doofus Rick was meant to interact with Rita and to a lesser extent, Dante.

So, rate, review, and I'll be back with the next chapter as soon as I can.

Next Time—Chapter 10: Pageants and Simulations