Episode 10: The Citadel of Ricks
Somewhere in Hawaii, Rick and the Smith family were sitting in their hotel room eating lunch, going about their lives like a seemingly normal morning. "So, Dad…" Beth said, putting a hand to her chin. "Can you guess what tomorrow is?"
"Is it March 12?" Rick asked.
"No, well… yes, it is." Beth answered.
"It is." Rick replied.
"Fine, but also, tomorrow is your one year anniversary back in our lives. I'm gonna make sure that they give you flying saucer-shaped pancakes." Beth said, ready to impress her old man.
"Oh, there's no need to do that, Beth. Regular pancakes are fine." Rick said, taking a bite of his meal. Before anything else had the chance to be said, a green portal opened, and another Rick came out. Unlike his counterpart, he had a black shirt and a scar across his lip, as well as a sick, mysterious metaphorical aura that reeked of evil.
The other Rick held out his pistol, shooting the Morty, causing him to fall asleep. Evil Rick calmly walked towards the family as Rick held out his own gun. However, Evil Rick's eyes turned to him, letting out a sick chuckle as a strange aura of shadow formed around his body. The screams of the Smith family could be heard throughout Hawaii as they saw what the attacker really was. Their entire room flashed with black light, attracting the looks of tourists and locals as the mysterious Rick's cackling was heard.
However, that was not the fate of our Rick, who is still safe and sound. He and his family were busy eating breakfast in their house, freshly served by Beth. It was your average, stereotypical breakfast consisting of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast, this case being raisin toast, the latter of which Reimu was happily munching on. "Mmm… mmm! This is so darn good." she said in between bites. After swallowing the food, she spoke once more. "Man, I cannot believe it has been about a year since Grampa came into our lives."
"Well, I can." Morty replied. "I'm just glad I'm not going on adventures all the time."
"Well, you could still go on adventures if you so wish. I'm not stopping ya." Reimu replied.
"Yeah, yeah. I could always use some extra mass here and there, metaphorically speaking of course." Rick stated. "By the way, I get the joke, people. Regular pancakes are already shaped like flying saucers." The scientist proceeded to pour some syrup on the pancakes before cutting a piece and taking a bite himself. "Mmm, Beth, it's really good. Maybe next time, I should be the one doing the cooking for you for putting up with me."
"While you're at it, might as well make us a whole restaurant." Jerry lamented.
"Well, that would be nice, but this is good enough for me." Summer answered.
At this point, Beth could only let out a happy sigh before smiling. "Dad, I just wish I could see more of you."
As soon as she said that, a portal opened, and the whole family looked to see that three Ricks in identical-looking uniforms resembling a fancier and more armored version of Rick's usual getup came out. "Beth, I think you might've just jinxed us. These guys don't look friendly." Reimu said.
"Rick Sanchez of Earth Dimension TP-37-Gamma." One of the mysterious Ricks said before pointing at Rick. "You are under arrest for crimes against alternate Ricks by the authority of the transdimensional council of Ricks."
"Hey! What the heck!?" an enraged Jerry asked, getting up from his seat and looking at the Ricks with a steely glare.
"Neutralize the Jerry!" the lead Rick ordered.
"What? No!" Before Jerry could say anything, he was shot by a laser, freezing him in a sheet of ice.
"Dad!" Summer yelled.
"Dad!" Beth scolded.
"Rick!" Morty shouted.
"What's your problem, man?" Reimu asked. She then turned towards her Rick. "Not you, the other one."
"Alright everyone, relax." Rick said, calmly getting up from his seat. "If I know these a-holes, and I am these a-holes, then they just want to bring me to their stupid clubhouse and bombard me with a bunch of pointless questions." He put his hands out, seemingly in a position to get cuffed. "Alright, everybody. Let's get this over with."
"Take his *urp* Morty and with him, both of them." the Rick at the center ordered, pointing to Morty and Reimu.
"What the hell?" a confused Morty asked before he got cuffed by one of the other Ricks. "Aw geez."
"I know right." a slightly less confused and slightly more miffed Reimu added before she too was cuffed.
"Hey, leave my grandkids out of this!" an angered Rick demanded.
"You lost the right to say these things when you r-*urp*-refused to join the council!" the lead Rick stated.
Before they could leave, Beth saw the opportunity to chime in. "Wait, wh-wh-wh-what about Jerry?"
"Will you at least unfreeze my daughter's idiot?" Rick asked.
As they departed, one of the Ricks rolled his eyes before shooting at Jerry, causing the ice to depart from his body and for him to move again. Hey, wait, I'll give you anything! I have a rare set of collectible treasures, just don't hurt me!" Jerry before looking around. "Okay, they might not be actual treasure, but I still have things that are pretty… rare…"
"Our son and niece have been abducted!" Beth informed.
"You hate me for buying these coins!" Jerry yelled.
As they exited the portal, both Reimu and Morty stared in wonder at the utopia-like citadel which seemed to be a mixture of metal structures and natural fauna, with numerous fountains, trees and distinct curved buildings covered in gold and white colors. "Grampa, what is this place?" Reimu asked, looking at the surrounding area.
"The Citadel of Ricks. It's the secret headquarters of the Council of Ricks." Rick explained.
"C-Council of Ricks?" Morty asked.
"Well, as you two know, I've got a lot of enemies in the multiverse that consider my genius a threat. Galactic terrorists, a few sub-galactic dictators, most of the entire intergalactic government: wh-wherever you find people with heads up their asses someone wants a piece of your grandpa. And a lot of versions of me on different timelines had the same problem." Rick explained. "So a few thousand versions of me had the INGENIOUS IDEA OF BANDING TOGETHER like a herd of cattle or a school of fish or those people who answer questions on Yahoo answers."
As they finished going up an escalator, Morty looked to see a Rick and a Morty walk by, both of which were dressed up in outfits from a Western movie. "Hey, what do you know? It's a cowboy version of me!" he happily pointed out.
"Geez, you're easy to impress. Yeah, most timelines have a Rick and most Ricks have a Morty. This place is a real who's-who of who's you and me." Rick said.
During their forced trek through the Citadel, Reimu noticed that the whole place consisted entirely of alternate versions of Rick and Morty, not her, nor Summer, nor Beth, nor Jerry. Just her grandfather and cousin. This got the wheels in her head turning, and she sighed. "Y'know, I find it hard to believe that we would follow a consistency across all timelines and universes. What about the other members of the family, or anyone else, for that matter?"
"Well, they're there, most Ricks tend to prefer Morty, and my timeline hopping is basically a last resort if I fucked up the world beyond repair." Rick explained. "You, your cousin, aunt, and uncle, all there in some shape or form."
"No, not that." Reimu explained. "This place is creepy beyond levels, and I find it… impossible, to say the least, that you would have Morty most of the time."
"What?" Morty asked.
"Alright, yes, I hate these places, and before you ask, there's more of these shitholes." Rick said. "Citadels and similar structures are finite, and can house only so many Ricks, among other things. Oddly enough, in most cases, Ricks tend to cluster together based on something they have in common, which is familial relations on most circumstances, mainly whichever children and grandchildren they wind up having. Sometimes, they have a little more than that. Well, you already know our family tree, Reimu, and you too, Morty." Rick explained.
Before Rick could continue, a Rick in a salesman outfit popped out, holding some colored medallions in his hands. "Turn your boring old Morty into a hot fashion statement, with some Morty dazzlers!"
The trio simply ignored that Rick, but another Rick came out, one holding a doll. "Hey, check this out!" he said, pressing a button on a Morty doll, causing it to speak.
"SHOW ME THE MORTY."
"Dumb." Rick and Reimu said at the same time.
Soon enough, another Rick came in, this one holding some papers. "'Scuse me, sir, is your Morty insured? You know, every year hundreds of Mortys are injured in-"
"Back off!" Rick ordered. "Not my cup of tea, this place. I say the point of being a Rick is being a Rick."
Suddenly, one of the Guard Ricks tensed up and shot a glare at TP-37. "Save your anti-Rick speech for the council of Ricks, terror-Rick!" he shouted.
"Hey, save your Rick rules for the *urp* sheep-Ricks, Rick-pig." TP-37 rebutted.
"Fuck me, pal." Guard Rick countered.
"Gladly. How about I do it now!?" TP-37 said, causing him to look away.
Soon enough, they reached a grand double-door with the Citadel's logo on it. Reimu took a deep breath as the door automatically opened, revealing a circular room. She looked around to see various Ricks, Morties, and even the occasional Summer standing. Oh wait, that was a Morty who was dressed like Summer, complete with an orange wig. The main attraction wasn't that crowd, however. Everyone looked up to see six powerful-looking Ricks in various hairstyles, perched on golden thrones as the looked down at everybody below them.
A short silence passed before the spokesman, Riq IV, spoke up. "Wait a minute? I said explicitly to bring his Morty, not his Reimu!"
"Eh, they're pretty much another type of Morty to me, one that isn't birthed right." one of the Guard Ricks said, electing an annoyed Rick to back-kick him in the crown jewels.
Riq IV rolled his eyes at that. "Whatever, it's close enough for me. Now as I was about to say, bring up the holograms!"
Upon his call, a holographic screen turned on, showcasing Ricks that were killed in several gruesome, dark, yet very creative ways. Several were stabbed by knives or had their head cut off, one was run over, another had his head shoved down his own rear, one was hung, there were a lot of Ricks. "Twenty-seven Ricks brutally murdered in their own timelines." Riq IV suddenly broke out. "And here we thought you were too nice for your own good, TP-37." he said with a taunting grin.
"You think I did this?" TP-37 asked, trying to reason with the Council. "Why are Ricks like me the first type of Rick you pull in every time a Rick stubs his toe?"
"You *urp* have a history of non-cooperation with the council." Riq IV replied.
"Yeah, but there is more than that came from." Rick pointed out. "What about The Scientist Formerly Known As Rick? He doesn't obey you either. Why isn't he in handcuffs?" Rick replied.
"Because he's dead too!" Riq IV said, pointing to a hologram displaying a Rick dressed in Victorian apparel. "Out of all the Ricks in this region of the multiverse, you're among the malcontent, the rogue…"
"I'm the RICK!" Rick TP-37 yelled out, standing tall and proud. "And so were the rest of you before you formed this stupid alliance. You all wanted to be safe from the government, so you became a stupid government! That makes every Rick here less Rick that me!" he explained.
"And besides, it's kind of hypocritical, isn't it?" Reimu remarked.
Several Ricks and Morties were talking to one another. "Yeah, murmur it up, d-bags. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got pancakes back home with syrup on top of them. They're about to hit that critical point of syrup absorption that turns the cakes into a gross paste. And I hate to get all Andy Rooney about it, but I think we all like fluffy discs of cake with syrup on top! And I think we also like to be accused of crimes when there's evidence! So as they say in Canada, peace oot!" Before he could leave, Riq IV gained a smug expression on his face.
"Evidence?" Riq IV said. "Scan his portal gun!" he said, and one of the Guard Ricks snatched it from TP-37.
"Oh, come on. I didn't do it, I swear!" Rick yelled out. "We-we all go to weird places to be, huh?"
The Guard Rick placed TP-37's portal gun into the machine showing the holograms. The display changed to show a diagram showcasing his portal gun history and where he went. "Yes, but it appears you alone have been going to the exact timelines and locations in which the murders occured!"
"What? That's Rick-diculous. I'm obviously being set up!" TP-37 replied.
Suddenly, all six members of the Council stood up. "Earth Rick TP-37! The Council of Ricks sentences you 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." Rick IV said. "Also, every ten seconds, it stabs your balls."
"I heard enough." Rick TP-37 said, jabbing a nearby Guard Rick in the elbow, causing him to accidentally shoot his handcuffs off. He used this opportunity to grab the gun and shoot his grandkids' handcuffs off as well. "Run kids," he shouted, grabbing Morty TP-37 as Reimu followed shortly behind.
A nearby Morty attempted to run alongside them, but his Rick stopped him. "Uh uh, not you!"
Meanwhile, Rick, Reimu, and Morty were running in one of the Citadel's corridors, with several Guard Ricks running in for the chase. TP-37 replied in kind by shooting portals at various spots in the wall. As the Guard Ricks continued their advance, one of them got burnt alive, screaming as a stream of blue fire melted him. The second guard to fall victim to the gauntlet faced mechanical locusts, screaming as he went into another portal.
A third guard made a mistake as he headed straight towards them, when suddenly, two Squidwards laughed as they wrapped their tentacles around him. One of them came up to him. "Mr. Krabs is gonna be so upset." the Squidward gleefully teased before they then stuffed clarinets in their heads and blared out an ear-shattering sound as they dragged the now screaming Guard Rick down with them.
The three framed individuals eventually came across a balcony, to which Rick jumped, grabbing Morty and Reimu as he opened a portal, going down with them.
The trio soon found themselves falling into a magenta, purple, and pink world filled with bizarre foliage. They found that their fall was broken by the flora, and they took some time to breathe. "Well, at least the air here is breathable, that's a good sign." Reimu remarked as she got up, dusting herself off.
As Rick and Morty got up, they saw a cylindrical creature with a fanged mouth and a lionlike tail briefly whimper as it inched across. It spotted them and went the other way, letting out more noises. Soon enough, another portal opened up and a group of Guard Ricks came down, still continuing on their chase. They briefly ran across the jungle for a bit before Rick opened up a portal. The trio jumped into it, being pursued by a bunch of Guard Ricks.
In a house, a light-skinned man with brown hair, blue eyes, and an outfit consisting of a red T-shirt and some khakis was dialing on a phone and put it to his ear. "Yeah, I would like to order one large pizza with extra toppings."
"Sausage, no, pepperoni, and mushrooms on half." a slightly obese man with thinning grey hair and an outfit consisting of Joe's (Blue's Clues) green squared T-shirt and some jeans said.
Before they could take their order, a portal opened up, and Rick, Reimu, and Morty came out of it. The two men looked in confusion and awe as the scientist opened another portal and got in, soon followed by the group of Guard Ricks that went in on the chase.
The Mushroom Kingdom is known to be a peaceful place. Well, as peaceful as it could get with Bowser invading the place. It was the night of the Star Festival when Bowser decided to enter the fray and ambush Mario on his special night. "Bwah ha ha! With the power of the Grand Stars, the Star Festival will soon be replaced by the Bowser Festival! Onwards, to the Mushroom Castle!" the Koopa King, a giant bipedal turtle with yellow and green scales, a spiky green shell, and red hair and eyes declared, pointing his clawed finger at the small town below.
As the airships began to encircle Peach's Castle, some began to shoot meteors at the frightened Toads, and when they hit, they were encased in crystal. Rick, Reimu, and Morty emerged from a portal just as the chaos was unfolding, followed by the Guard Ricks. The trio ran across the town, dodging meteors, debris, and frightened Toads. Rick soon saw a wall and opened up a portal, with the Guard Ricks following en suite.
Meanwhile, in a similar house to the one before, a sapient mushroom pizza was dialing on a phone before holding it up to his ear. "Yeah, I would like to order one large human with extra humans." the mushroom pizza person said.
"White people, no no no, black people, and Hispanic on half." a pepperoni and olive pizza said as he lay on his spot on the couch.
Before the pizza could take the order, they saw a portal open forth, and looked in shock and confusion as Rick came out with Reimu and Morty before opening another portal and going through, with several Guard Ricks on the chase.
There is yet another battlefield out in the multiverse, though it is one with elements that are extremely different compared to the last one. It was a cataclysmic landscape in the middle of an intense storm. Lightning and thunder crackled about as rain descended into the ground. Several places were flooded and volcanoes sprouted hither and yon, erupting with fresh streams of lava.
The two monsters responsible for this were the gigantic red dinosaur-esque being known as Groudon and the gigantic blue whale-like creature, Kyogre. The two were both in their ageless clash, bigger and stronger than they normally are in the present, having reverted back to their primal forms and giving off a glow in some way or another, with Kyogre's organs being able to be seen from under its belly and Groudon having designs on its body reminiscent of magma, both of which sported the symbols for the Greek letters alpha and omega on their respective bodies.
Groudon started the fight by grabbing Kyogre and throwing it into a mountain. Before it toppled, Kyogre managed to float towards safety and shoot several spouts of water at Groudon. At this point, a portal opened, and Rick came out, followed by Reimu and Morty, as well as the Guard Ricks chasing them. Reimu looked up in horror as she saw the giant blue whale shoot spouts of water, and then saw a red dinosaur proceed to charge for an attack. "Look out!"
Morty looked up to see Kyogre's attack fire. "Aw geez…" he said to himself, looking to see Groudon summon some sharp rocks from the earth. He yelped as he, Rick, Reimu, and the Guard Ricks dodged some of the rocks, and looked up in the sky to see something descending from it. "Aw geez…"
The being that Morty saw is a gigantic, green serpent with two stubby arms, a draconic head, a set of fins, and some yellow and red designs on its body. That is Rayquaza, the mediator between Groudon and Kyogre. It had sensed the clash between the two titans and went to stop it. It let out some air-based attacks to attract the attention of the weather titans before transforming into a stronger form that was bigger and more elegant in design.
As Rayquaza began to enter the fray, Rick saw a nearby ledge and opened a portal there, while his grandkids followed not too far behind and the Guard Ricks continued on their chase.
In yet another reality, things were getting crazier. A red phone was sitting on a pizza-chair, casually typing on a person with brown hair, a red shirt, khakis, and jeans before holding it up to his ear. "Yeah, I would like to order one large sofa chair with extra chairs, please."
"High chair," a black phone said. "No no no, recliner, and wheelchair on half."
Before the phone could take their order, Rick, Reimu, and Morty came out of a portal and opened one near their door before going through it. The two phones looked in confusion as three Guard Ricks came chasing them through the portal before both of them closed.
The last reality was rather calm compared to the last few, and even more desolate in comparison. It consisted of a cluster of islands made of white stone floating around in a black static void. It was populated by the endermen, tall, black figures with purple eyes, and it was occasionally dotted with the strange Chorus trees. The eeriee silence was broken when Rick and his grandkids emerged from a portal, with Rick shooting several different green portals out in the area before going into one of them himself.
Soon enough, various squadrons of Guard Ricks came out of the portals. "He could've gone into any one of these." one of the Guard Ricks mentioned. The various groups that came out soon went to argue towards one another. Unbenknownst to them, three red books popped out, all of which contained a gold-plated symbol of a six-fingered hand, each with a different number on them. Three endermen came and examined them, quickly picking them up and teleporting elsewhere.
Meanwhile, inside another reality, two matching blue chairs were sitting on chair-people, with one calling someone on a pizza, while another was sitting on the chair-person beside him. "Yeah, I'd like to order one large phone with extra phones please." the first chair said.
"Cellphone. No no no no no, rotary! And payphone on half." the second chair replied.
Suddenly, Rick, Reimu, and Morty came out. "That'll keep 'em *urp* busy for a while." Rick said, casually opening the door for his grandkids before closing it behind him.
The three walked across the alternate chair-based reality, with the inhabitants looking as they walked. "Geez, what is with those people?" Reimu asked. She paused before looking at Rick. "Not you, Grampa. Those Citadel people. You would not kill yourself… yourselves. Are they trying to frame us or something?"
"N-*urp* no, Reimu. If they wanted to frame us, they could easily kill us and blame us on our own deaths or use another Rick's accident as an excuse." Rick stated. "Besides, how could that profit me? Someone out there is killing Ricks, and the council ain't gonna stop thinking it's me until we clear our names." Rick said. Behind him, they saw a giant bottle move across the road, presumably this world's version of a bus.
"By finding the real killer?" Reimu asked.
"Bingo." Rick replied.
"Aw geez, you guys. I'm scared, really, really scared here." Morty stammered.
"I feel your pain, Morty." Reimu replied. "I've had a feeling that I would wind up running into another Rick or some other interdimensional traveler, but someone framing us for the murder of several alternate versions of Grampa adds a whole new level. It makes that gauntlet we went through seem as tame as a kitten in comparison."
"It seemed rather lethal to me, Reimu." Morty admitted. "Maybe we should go home and stockpile weapons like that show Doomsday Preppers."
"I do not think that is a good idea." Reimu replied. "With us being framed, they won't let us off the hook so easily."
"I hate to break it to you, but your cousin's right, Morty. Due to our current circumstances, our home is most likely swarming with Ricks right now." Rick added. "Besides, it's *urp* not really my style."
Inside the Smith Residence, various Guard Ricks and a few Guard Morties have taken up shop. As they patrolled the home in case TP-37 arrives, the Smith family were all trying to have a normal time. One of the Guard Ricks went towards Jerry and handed a phone to him. "Alright, listen, Jerry. If Rick calls, this device is going to trace his location. You just gotta keep 'em on the phone for thirty seconds or longer."
Shortly after, Beth came along, having a tray full of glasses of lemonade. "Who wants lemonade?" she asked.
Several of the Guard Ricks smiled and accepted her offer. "Oh, yeah. Mmm, delicious." the first Guard Rick said.
"Beth, y-*urp*-you're a treasure." a second Rick chimed in.
Soon, a third Rick spoke up. "Once, I had a Beth just like you in my *urp* reality, except you know what? She's not as brilliant or *urp* as attractive."
"Oh th-*urp*-ank you!" Beth replied, burping to gather the attention of a few other Ricks.
Meanwhile, back with Jerry, a Guard Rick gestured for him to call on the phone when it rang. Reluctantly, Jerry went over to the phone and put it in his ear. "Hey, Jerry, it's Rick." Rick called out.
"Rick! Heyy. Haha, what's- what's up?" Jerry stammered.
"So listen, the heat's on and *urp* there's nowhere left to turn so my grandchildren and I are just going to fly my spaceship into a black hole." Jerry gasped in surprise. "Is that cool with you, dog?"
"Rick, no. Reimu! Summer! MORTY!" Jerry cried, mourning his son.
"I got it! The call's coming from…" Suddenly, the Guard Rick stood straight up. "Inside the house!"
At that moment, several of the Guard Ricks burst into laughter, laughing at Jerry's expense while Beth just smirked at her husband's misery. "What? I was not abducted by them." a confused Summer said to herself.
Back in the chair dimension, Rick, Reimu, and Morty were busy having a meal at a restaurant called 'Le Poltrona Tame', planning on their next move as Rick tinkered with his portal gun. Soon, the chair waiter came back with some more phone food. "Phones á la clams, raphoneoli, and phonesgetti with phoneballs." he said, handing it to Rick, Reimu, and Morty in their respective order. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, more phonesticks, please." Rick said.
"Right away, sir." the waiter said, walking towards the kitchen.
Meanwhile, back with the three travelers, Reimu took a phonestick and munched on it. "Huh, it always makes me curious as to how they look like phones but it tastes and feels more like food." She took another bite. "It's even edible, at least I think it's edible."
"It's edible, Reimu." Rick answered. "Already scanned the food for anything that might be out of the ordinary. It won't mess with us, remember?"
"Ah yeah, kinda forgot about that." Reimu replied.
At this point, Morty had something to get off his chest.. "You know Rick, when I first saw all those Ricks and Mortys, I thought 'gee, that kinda devalues our bond.' But then I realised that just means that our relationship must be pretty special to span over all those different timelines."
"Not to be offensive in any way, it only seems to be you and Grampa." Reimu said. "What about me, or Summer, or your parents…" Reimu paused for a moment. "…or my parents."
"Well, you might see a stray version of Summer, Beth, Jerry, or you or that Marisa character," Rick replied. "Though, in most cases, they're funneled out for whatever weird reason."
"Wait, why?" Morty asked.
"You see, when you are as smart as a Rick, have a very distinct and traceable brainwave due to your genius. That's part of the reason why Ricks hide from the enemy's radar by standing near someone with complementary brainwaves that make ours invisible." Rick explained. "However, that is pretty much null, especially considering you could just invent a device that can mask your brainwaves for you."
"Then why did you adventure with me before you went to that other dimension?" Morty asked.
Rick sighed. "I suppose I walked into that. Guess I am no better, huh?"
"Don't say that." Reimu replied. "Grampa, even if you're not my original Rick, I still respect you. Morty gets to go to school on a regular basis again, since I gave the previous version a deal last year, and you honored it! Besides, you said that the other versions of yourself were less of you than you are, and we're helping you clear your name. Whoever is trying to get away with this shall pay, that I swear!"
"But still, if you can make a device that can hide your brainwaves, then how do those other Ricks travel with alternate versions of me if they're just as smart as you?" Morty asked.
"It's an obsession at this point." Rick replied. "Remember when we were at the Citadel and all these Salesman Ricks were busting into our personal space with their merchandise? It was all themed around you, Morty. I've also heard rumors of them pitting Mortys against one another in some ghetto-ass Pokemon parody like dogs or cocks or whatever, again fueled by obsession. Sure, there are some Ricks that are in there that venture with more than just you, but they are extremely rare at that place, but fortunately, they're not intolerant towards any of our relatives. Besides, if I know myself, which I do, then they probably are doing this to mess with Jerry." As he was speaking, Reimu and Morty took the occasional bite from their meals. Soon enough, a beeping sound was heard, and both of the cousins looked towards their grandfather. "Oh, shit dog! My portal gun was hacked remotely, guys. It was obviously by the real killer to frame me. But I was able to trace the signal, and no, it was not the Citadel. Come on, let's go!"
Suddenly, something caught Reimu's eye. "Jesus, they're here!"
"Oh no…" Rick said.
Shortly after, three Guard Ricks went in, heading towards the waiter. "'Scuse me, we've tracked a trio of dangerous criminals to this exact location. One of them looks like us, so in order to avoid confusion I'm going to mark us each with a red X right now. That way if someone has a gun and we both tell you to shoot the other one because they're the evil one, you'll know who's lying."
"Hey, check it out." the second Guard Rick pointed out.
They saw two chair-people, one looking like Rick and the other looking like Morty. They ran over to them and turned them to eye's view, only to see that Rick one actually looked like a woman, and the one in the yellow shirt was a bearded man in a unibrow. "Dammit!" he yelled.
They looked out the window, seeing Rick flip them off as he got in the car, revealing that he had a tank top under his sweater and his labcoat, though Morty did not have anything under his shirt. They immediately went to the chase, but the waiter ran outside with them. "Hey, you didn't pay your bill!"
The Guard Rick pointed towards his forehead. "Red X! Red X!"
A little while later, the three were in the stolen vehicle, with Rick and Morty fully-clothed again as they and Reimu stared in awe at the planet. "Well, here we are, folks. The belly of the beast." Rick said. "At least they had some spare clothes in stock, huh?"
"Well, that's a relief." Reimu said. As they descended into the atmosphere, they began to see the surface of the world. It was barren, sandy, and littered with dead trees and the bones of long dead organisms, ones that appeared to be Earthly in nature. Across the mountain ranges, they could see the beds of what had once been rivers, now dried up of all their water. "Oh my, what happened to this place? It looks as if nearly everything was vaporized here."
"If I'm a guessing guy, then this is an alternate Earth where all life mysterious vanished, aside from perhaps whatever microscopic life is here, but I don't want to jump into conclusions." With the cloudy blue sky above and the brown sand below, they looked around as Rick spoke. "Man, this place is way off the grid. This guy does not want to be found."
"Wh-who would want to hide in there?" Morty asked. He looked out towards the wasteland. "There's nothing for them to do out there or something."
"Probably because they picked a good hiding place." Rick answered. Soon enough, he piloted their stolen vehicle towards what looked like ruins of some kind. "Alright, so the signal is coming from that ruined city. I don't know where it is, nor do I care."
Rick descended the car downwards, and as they went closer towards the ruined city, they could see that many of the buildings were eroded at the top, but they were still standing proud. They did see some remnants of barrels and crates, with any non-metallic content likely having rotted away. "Woah, wanna loot this place some time in the future?" Reimu asked.
"Reimu!" Morty scolded.
"What? Nobody's been alive here for quite some time." the teenager said.
At this point, Morty couldn't argue with that. "Fair point."
"Yeah yeah, we can do it later. Right now, the main objective is to find the real killer." Rick said. He sent the car down towards landing level. Seeing a plaza to land in, they found themselves going face to face with the scorching heat outside. "Gah! No wonder everything's died out! This is boiling!"
Morty took off his new shirt while Reimu took off her jacket. "You said it, Rick. Who would want to live up here."
"Labcoat. Issue automatic AC." Rick ordered. Soon enough, a chilling air surrounded his body, thus cooling him down. "Ah, that's better. Still can't fix you at the moment, but for you, it's not that they would want to live up here, but rather down there." Rick said, pointing towards the ground.
"They're underground?" Morty asked.
"Bingo." Rick replied. "Alright, everybody. There should be a building nearby that would lead towards the underground. Under there is our ticket to clearing our names. Come on, let's go."
Meanwhile, back at the Smith Household, several Ricks and Morties were busy playing cards, trying to pass the time as their fellow guards searched for Rick. Beth soon showed up, carrying a tray of coffee mugs, and the Ricks immediately went to get the caffeinated goodness, leaving the Morties to play cards in their stead.
As for Jerry, he angrily sat on the couch, going through his laptop for a job. Soon enough, an odd-looking Rick walked into the room. Jerry groaned at the sight. "Hi Jerry!" he greeted in a friendly fashion, trying to make a good first impression on the man.
"Leave me alone, I'm working!" Jerry angrily said, moving away from him.
"Oh, you are? Wh-wh-what do you do?" the Rick replied, curious about the job he was working on.
"Ugh. I'm- I'm in between advertising jobs." Jerry said.
"Advertising? Wow! So, people need help figuring out what to buy and then y-you help them?" he said, amazed.
"W-well, it's a little more complicated than that…" Jerry was confused, wondering how a Rick could act like that.
"Well, I mean, you do it, and you seem like a guy that really has it all together!" he complimented.
Jerry, of course, was confused, and immediately looked for any hidden Ricks waiting to jumpscare him when he lowered his defenses. "Dude, are you… wh- you're being a dick, right?" he asked, trying to see if he was trying to fool him.
He looked shocked. "Oh gosh, wh- I hope not! I-I-I-I wouldn't want to offend you in any way!"
Jerry, seeing that he was not joking, became more confused than ever. "You're really a Rick?"
"Yep, just as my Morty's a Morty." he said, gesturing to a peculiar looking Morty, who just waved his hand.
"Hey, he looks a lot like Eric Stoltz from the movie 'Mask.' You know, the one with Cher in it?" Jerry said, scanning every detail of the Morty's face.
"That's right, Jerry!" he said, before explaining how he got him. "He-he's from a reality where everyone is Eric Stoltz mask people! He's Eric Stoltz mask Morty!" A distant murmuring was heard, and he looked over to the door. "Hang on, I want to introduce you to someone else while I'm at it."
The Rick left the room, and Jerry wondered if he really was playing a park. However, his thought was halted when he saw him walk in with an alternate Reimu, much to his surprise. She looked a tad different, lacking her mother's bow on her head and a pair of thick glasses to help her see. She still wore the iconic hoodie and her mother's hair tubes, but she had her hood up and she wore a thick sweater and some droopy jeans. "H… h… h-hi…" she said, shakily waving her hand at Jerry.
"Woah, is that really Reimu?" Jerry asked, looking at the girl.
"Yes, she's as much as much of a Reimu as your own is." the Rick said. The alternate Reimu looked at Jerry again and put her hood over her eyes with a slight yelp. "Aw, she's shy. You see, neither my Morty or my Reimu are really, well, mine. They came onto my care for different reasons. For my Morty, the Citadel assigned him to me because… I never had any children of my own. For my Reimu, I decided to adopt her as my own. You see, the death of her parents was earlier than most of her counterparts, her Rick wasn't there for her, and it didn't help that she was picked on for most of her life, sometimes I wonder if I've been any better for her, considering that most of the Ricks at the citadel commonly bully her. I don't mind having either one of then, they seem to enjoy each other's company. I might not have had any kids or grandkids, but if I did, boy, I'd love 'em if they were as smart and as successful as you are, Jerry."
Soon after, the Ricks returned with their coffee, looking at the Rick and his Reimu. "Hey, get a load of this! Jerry's hanging out with Doofus Rick."
"Eep!" Doofus Reimu yelped, looking for some place to hide, only to find that Ricks were all over the room. She gave up and hunkered down into a little ball.
In contrast, Doofus Rick stood his ground. "I'm not a Doofus Rick! I'm Rick K-193-Eta!"
The two Guard Ricks laughed at what he said.. "Oh, is that the timeline where everybody eats poop? Jerry, you know this guy eats poop, right?"
"Hey! I don't eat poop! Y-you guys are always so mean to me!" Doofus Rick said. As the Ricks laughed at the two and left the room, Doofus Rick slumped down. "I guess it's only fair to tell you now, Jerry… I'm the worst Rick of them all."
Jerry, however, raised an eyebrow and soon came to comfort him. "According to who? Other versions of you? If I've learned one thing, it's that before you get anywhere in life, you gotta stop listening to yourself."
Doofus Reimu soon uncurled and shakily looked up to Jerry. "Wow, you really are wise, Jerry. I-I guess that's why you work in advertising!" Doofus Rick said, giving a smile.
Jerry just smiled. "And that's why you're the best Rick I've ever seen."
Underneath the ruins was a network of catacombs, all of which were the same sandy brownish-grey as the ruins and the sand surrounding it. The main difference is that it was dark and cool, rather comfy compared towards the scorching heat up above at the cost of not having any light. There were torches, but none of them were lit up, drowning the area in shadow. "Ah, that's much better. Sure does beat the scorching heat up above." Morty said.
"Yup. Though, it sure could use some lighting." Reimu mentioned. She looked towards Rick, who was holding some sort of glowing stick in his hand. "Are you sure this is the killer's hiding place?"
"From this point, we should be quiet, but yes, I'm certain this is where the signal was." Rick said.
They went on for a bit, and Morty huddled close towards his older relatives. Soon enough, he proceeded to walk a little too fast and stumbled. The moment Morty stumbled and landed on his feet, an alarm proceeded to ring. Morty looked down to see what caused his stumbling, and realized he activated a tripwire mechanism. "Aw geez."
"Great. Just our luck." Rick said. He went into a battle stance whilst Reimu and Morty went closer towards the scientist, ready to face whatever threat the killer sent at them. Out from the shadows walked various...
"Mom!? Dad!? Summer!? ME!?" Morty screamed.
Out of the darkness came various Beths, Jerrys, Summers, and even a few Mortys, only that their eyes glowed an eerie white and let out semi-feral breathing as they came close. "Oh God, looks like he didn't stop at killing Ricks, didn't he?" Rick asked.
"Aw geez, this is not giving me good memories AT ALL!" Morty yelped as he hid behind Reimu.
He proceeded to tackle through the first batch, charging into the fray, countering the brainwashed family members with a series of punches and kicks, effectively knocking them out. Unfortunately, they were not out, as they soon got up as if they weren't injured in the first place. As they got up, a singular Rick came into the area. "I didn't quite expect something like this to happen, but then again, I should've expected it from someone as persistent as a human being."
"A human being? Really?" Rick asked. "You kinda realize you're one too."
"Oh, perhaps a slip of the tongue, watashi no yūjin." Evil Rick said, the last few words of his sentence slipping into Japanese dialect.
"Wata-wha?" Morty asked.
Reimu saw Morty look over towards him. "What? Just because my mother was supposed to be a shrine maiden does not mean I know how to speak proper Japanese."
"You know what? I don't care the slightest." Evil Rick said. He clapped his hands, causing the mind-controlled Smith family members to walk towards them. "Seize them."
The moment that Evil Rick's puppets were about to pounce, Rick pushed Reimu and Morty out of the way. "Run kids!" Rick yelled, letting himself get dragged by his captors. His grandchildren looked back with teary eyes and proceeded to do as they said.
As they ran across the catacombs, Reimu and Morty had a million thoughts going racing just as fast in their mind as they were running in the catacombs. Both were saddened and afraid, with devastation from Morty and a slight scare from Reimu. "Aw geez, I don't like the looks of these other Moms, Dads, Summers, and mes."
"I know, the guy's definetly mind-controlling them somehow." Reimu remarked. As they were running, a mind-controlled Jerry popped out of one of the hallways, intent on grabbing Reimu, but the teen managed to punch him out cold, only for three more to take his place. "They're persistent, too, aren't they?"
"Apparently." Morty lamented.
They continued running down the hallways, occasionally taking turns whenever they were forced to by either walls or a mind-controlled Smith counterpart. Unfortunately, a mind-controlled Summer grabbed Reimu by the leg, forcing her down. "Gah! Morty! Save yourself!" Reimu yelled.
Morty, at this point, didn't know what to do. His cousin was captured, and he was so off-guard that he forgot to check for any crevices, one of which he tripped over and fell, rolling down a slope and landing onto another flat surface, dazed and dizzy from his fall and roll. Morty got up and shook his head clear, and when he regained focus, he noticed that there were a bunch of other Mortys huddled together and being tended by a few other Smith members. "Aw geez."
Meanwhile, Rick was with Evil Rick, the former strapped to a surgical table in a makeshift laboratory belonging to the latter. Evil Rick was walking around Rick, and began his lecture. "You Ricks are persistent, and I applaud your effort, but it is all for naught. Weird, considering I have adapted to your ways, discovering what makes you tick with every one of you I take out. So I settled here, and the rest is history. I began killing Rick's capturing their families, yada yada ya."
"Yeah, yeah, looks like payday at Neverland ranch in here." Rick said in a deadpan tone. "Zing!"
Evil Rick couldn't help but facepalm. "Either way, you should've figured out why the Citadel wasn't able to find me. They're so stuck into their ways that they actually believe they're truthful. Kinda like this!" He pulled a lever, and the wall in front of them opened up, revealing several Mortys strapped onto the inside, stripped completely naked as drills pierced their hips, causing them to scream in pain as it happened. "Yes, listen to the symphony of pain, the pain I experienced for a long time. Isolated from the world, not noticing that it has changed in my absence."
"Hey, I'll take it over Mumford and Sons. Zip!" Rick once again joked in a deadpan tone.
Evil Rick's brow furrowed. "Let's get real, your jokes aren't funny, but you know what is? The Citadel is home to a bunch of incompetent fools! They actually believe the gomi they spit out, hence why I was so easily able to hide from their grasp. Admittedly, I was having a bit too much fun there."
Rick only rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I get it. They're a bunch of incompetent fools that never should've built that stupid alliance. Their rules are just so fucking retarded."
"Agreeable." Evil Rick said. "I am not sure what is going on in your aura, but it seems that we are kindred spirits, kami among men, and kami among our own peers, too. Granted, I've taken a major blow since my height of power, but I am rebuilding from the ground up, eager to settle an old score of mine."
"Uh huh, I get it, so you want to join forces with me and take down the Council of Ricks, right? Is that where you're going with this? 'Cause that's where I would be going." Rick questioned.
"Laughable. Your precious Citadel is not the one I hold a grudge with. You think a mere mortal like you could take on my old enemy? Anata wa kanzen ni machigatte imasu! However, before I kill you, why not go down memory lane? I might seize the opportunity for more knowledge while I'm at it." At Evil Rick's words, Rick's deadpan expression turned into one of fear.
Meanwhile, in the garage, Doofus Rick, Doofus Reimu, and Jerry were looking on as the former mixed some chemicals together. "Okay, if we add a little more titanium nitrate, and just a tad of chlorified tartrate:" The three watched as the brown mixture formed. "Ovenless brownies!"
Jerry soon grabbed a slice and ate it, soon followed by Doofus Reimu. "It's incredible what a gifted mind can accomplish when priorities are in order!" Jerry complimented.
"Well, come on, I can't take all the credit, Jerry. It was your idea. C'mere guys!" All three went into a hug and spout out a brief moment of laughter.
"Thanks… I feel safer… and happier…" Doofus Reimu said with a smile.
"You're welcome." Jerry replied. "Hey, uh. C'mere, uh. I-I wanna show you something." Jerry said. The three exited the garage and went to his room, where he pulled out a box. "Okay, look. People say that I was getting desperate for getting these, but… you're a genius scientist, what do you think? There's little R2D2s where the George Washingtons should be!"
Rick K-193-Eta grabbed a coin and examined it. "You know Jerry, I'm not gonna tell you that these will increase in value, or even hold their current value. The truth is… you bought 'em 'cause you like 'em. They have value to you. That's what matters." he replied, smiling at him. Doofus Reimu nodded.
Soon, Jerry started tearing up. "How long are you staying?"
"Until we find your Rick." Doofus Rick answered.
Suddenly, Jerry grabbed onto him, not wanting to let him go. "I found mine. I found mine…"
Meanwhile, back at the catacombs, Morty looked around to see the various Mortys that managed to escape. "So... you're telling me that you're more willing to stay down here and starve to death while your relatives minds are at stake!?" Morty asked, shaking one of the Mortys' head. "You're telling me you just wanna give up! Is that it!? My Rick and my Reimu are both in danger!"
"Ricks are but parasites, child. All they do is destroy." Morty turned to see a group of Mortys with tatooed faces and robes covering their bodies. "As for our first question, there's no escape. We will find our peace in the next world." They handed Morty a pamphlet called 'The Good Morty'.
Morty read the book for a few pages before idly throwing it away and groaning. "Wha? That's plain ridiculous, there's literally stairs right over there!" Morty pointed towards another side of the room, which had a doorway leading towards a spiral staircase. "Jesus Christ, being in here for so long has made you guys loopy. Now I know you're giving up."
"That's what we keep telling them!" a Beth yelled out in the distance.
"But there's only so much guacamole!" a Jerry replied.
The Mortys ignored the conversation before turning their attention back towards one another, and the lead hooded Morty spoke up. "I guess we should've told you. We're not giving up, but rather, we are giving in to the One True Morty." The lead Morty removed his hood, revealing that he had a bald head. "One day he will return."
As the lead Morty put his hands together in prayer, so did his followers. "Praise the One True Morty!"
Morty just facepalmed at that, but before he could complain, his brain hatched an idea. Looking at a conveniently placed rock that the Mortys made into an altar, he stepped on it and prepared to make a speech to them. "Alright Mortys, listen up! My name is Morty Smith, from Earth dimension TP-37! I know you're scared, because I'm scared, but that's no reason to accept our fate. We're Mortys! We're not defined by our relationships to Rick! One of us might not do a thing, but together, our destiny is our own!"
"This sounds like something the One True Morty might say." One of the Mortys soon got up. "I'm sick of being a human shield! I-I-I-I wanna be a gardener!"
A second Morty, one with a pair of green antennae, came up in the crowd. "I wanna write really crazy, intense action novels!"
A Morty with a hammer for a head spoke up. "I'm more than just a hammer!"
Suddenly, all of them went to Morty TP-37 and held him up. "He is the One True Morty! The One True Morty!"
They all cheered for TP-37, marching towards the stairwell and proceeding to advance towards Evil Rick's lair, charging through the brainwashed puppets and knocking them out.
Meanwhile, back at Evil Rick's lab, Rick himself had devices strapped onto his head while Evil Rick looked at his memories through the screen, smiling as he did so. "You've lived quite a life, haven't you, human? It's a real shame you're not going to be able to see it through. Don't worry, though. Your memories will be put to good use."
Pretty soon, the memories shifted to Morty and Reimu, some of them were good, some of them were bad, others were just neutral.
Suddenly, memories of Rick, a baby Morty, and a toddler Reimu came up, causing him to tear up. "Huh, so you do care about them, huh, TP-37?"
Rick immediately glared daggers at him. "No, I'm just allergic to dipshits!"
Evil Rick could only groan at this, but before he could do anything, he saw a brainwashed Beth and Jerry walk in, holding onto a kicking and screaming Reimu, who was struggling from their grasp. "Hey! Let me go you two! When Morty gets some help... you'll be sorry!"
Rick's expression grew worrisome, and Evil Rick could detect it. He took on an evil grin and looked towards Rick. "You know you care for them, and I know as well. If it weren't for your memories, I could read your facial expression."
Before he knew it, however, the door burst open, and dozens of Morties came bursting out, angrily gathering around Evil Rick, making sure to beat every last spark of life out of him as he struggled to break free. "YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR THIS!" he declared, bashing on the Morties as they fought back with even greater ferocity. "Mada owatte imasen!"
As the Mortys beat Evil Rick up, the brainwashed couple that were holding Reimu suddenly let her go and started shaking. As they did so, their eyes stopped glowing as what looked like ashes fell from their bodies before they fell down towards the ground like flies. "Alright, let's end this nightmare once and for all." Reimu said as Morty freed Rick, who proceeded to deactivate the shield and pull out his phone.
Back at the Smith Residence, a Guard Rick saw the phone ring and accepted the call. "Yeah, hello?" the Guard Rick asked.
"Hey, what do me and OJ not have in common?" TP-37 asked.
The Guard Rick gave off a look of shock. "Huh? Who is this!?"
"We found the real killer, bitch!" Rick yelled triumphantly. "Get over here!"
Meanwhile, Jerry, Doofus Rick, and Doofus Reimu were busy playing with Legos, the latter one took a bit of time to clean her glasses. Suddenly, she heard the door open and stood straight up, her face beet red. "Yo ding-dongs! We're done here. Time to go."
"Well, Jerry, I guess this means goodbye." Doofus Rick said.
Jerry stammered, trying to find words. "W-w-well, does it have to? Heh, you, you look just like Rick. We could maybe… you know… get rid of him? I'm not saying kill him, necessarily, I-I'm also not saying necessarily not kill him, but-"
"Jerry. W-we both know it wouldn't work. It's time to go back to our lives. I love you, Jerry. I love ya." The three got together in one last hug before releasing it.
"Thanks for… thanks for helping me grow…" Doofus Reimu said with a sad smile.
After that, the two left, leaving Jerry alone. Jerry, at first, thinks about going with them, but stops and angrily punches a wall, shaking the Lego castle they built.
Meanwhile, back in Evil Rick's lair, the various captured Morties continued beating on Evil Rick's corpse as his remaining minions were swiftly dealt with. Soon enough, portals opened, and several Guard Ricks came marching out and pulled the Morties away from Evil Rick's corpse. Soon enough, some of the Council members came, carrying blankets for them. "Wh-wh-what's gonna happen to all these Mortys?" Morty asked.
"And what of their families?" Reimu added.
Riq IV shook his head. "I'm not sure whether their families are alive or not, but if they are, their Mortys will go back to their regular everyday lives. They will attend school, play video games, date girls, masturbate. Poor little Rickless bastards."
It took a while, but they were back at the Citadel of Ricks, where the Council of Ricks stood before them, eager to make amends. "Earth Rick TP-37, the council apologizes for its false accusation. And in the way of reparations for our terrible mistake, we would like to compensate you with this voucher for a free replacement Morty, in the event that *urp* your current *urp* Morty should-"
"Uh, guys? Not a good time. Come on, guys, let's hit it." Rick said. The moment his grandkids turned around, he went ahead and took the voucher, just in case.
As they walked through the Citadel, Reimu couldn't help but smile. "You know, while I never really liked how they showed up and thought we were the killers, but, at the end of the day, it was a pretty good adventure. Rather bizarre and kind of sudden, but it was pretty fun to participate in."
"Heh, I did a pretty great job back there for a human cloaking device. Saved your ass." Morty joked.
Rick couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Heh, got me there." Soon afterwards, Rick's slight grin turned to a serious look as he looked towards Morty. "Just don't get too big for your loafers, Buster Brown." Rick said, opening up a portal. "A cocky Morty could lead to some big problems."
"Wait, how's that?" Morty asked.
"I'll explain it to you when you're older." Rick said. And with that, he and his grandchildren went through the portal back home, ready to take a break from the whole ordeal.
Back in the Evil Rick's lair, a trio of Ricks in medical uniforms were examining the body of the now dead Evil Rick, who was lying in a pool of his own blood. "Urgh... what a mess." the first Rick said.
"Pride cometh before the fall. I guess he got what he deserved." a second Rick said.
"Alright, let's take this body and... I dunnow, incenerate it?" the third Rick proposed.
As they went closer, they noticed something strange going on with Evil Rick's body. "Wait a minute, is it... moving?" the second Rick asked.
At this point, the first and third Ricks groaned. "Urgh, god fucking dammit, A-239. You seriously have to get a life. Someone's corpse can't just..." The third Rick took notice and saw that Evil Rick's head was twitching. "Oh my God, something is wrong."
Soon enough, Evil Rick's eyes opened, glowing a blood red color, as with his mouth, which momentarily distorted into sharp fangs. "A-239, E-890-Gamma, Jump it!" the first Rick ordered.
Before they could do so, they noticed a black figure emerge from Evil Rick's mouth. When the being emerged, the corpse fell dead, for real this time. "Holy shit... that Rick was possessed this whole time!?" E-890-Gamma yelled, obviously shocked at what 'Evil Rick' was this whole time.
The dark spirit's gleaming red mouth opened as it roared, displaying its two clawed hands, both of which had three fingers (two and a thumb) on them. It looked towards the A-239 and roared, rushing right towards him. Rick A-239 quickly ducked at the last moment, causing the spirit to miss its target by inches. Unfortunately, there was a Rick that was behind them. He turned around, opening his mouth in shock as a worried expression on his face.
"What the fuck?" the fourth Rick asked.
"What are you doing? Move!" A-239 yelled.
Unfortunately, he didn't listen, and the dark spirit went inside the fourth Rick's mouth as his eyes momentarily glowed black. The fourth Rick closed his eyes and mouth, and when he opened his eyes again, they momentarily radiated a red light before returning to a presumably normal state as his mouth went into a sickening grin, fangs prominent before returning to normal teeth. "You fools never seem to learn, do you?" the possessed Rick said his voice having slight demonic echo added into every word.
He held out his hand, and out of it, beams of white light emerged from them. The three Ricks were too paralyzed by their fear to move out of the way, the light striking them right in their chests as their eyes shot beams of white light. When the possesed Rick finished his attack, the three Ricks' eyes went blank as they sported emotionless looks on their faces. "Maitiwan yo, watashi wa anata ni tsukaemasu." all three Ricks said simultaneously, being under that other Rick's control.
The possessed Rick chuckled to himself, but before he could continue further, he noticed someone walk towards the site, that being Doofus Rick. "Hey guys! Can-can I-" Before Doofus Rick could continue, all four Ricks glared at him as their eyes glowed red, with the possessed Rick's hand crackling with lightning as an aura formed around it. "Oh... I see how it is, then..." Doofus Rick said.
The possessed Rick and his mind controlled puppets looked to see Doofus Rick lower his head sadly and walk away, silently sobbing along the way. The possessed Rick looked back at his puppets before noticing his phone ring. Holding it up towards his mouth, he heard the head medical Rick speak. "Alright, what did you turds discover?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary, dickbag." the possessed Rick replied, using the normal Rick's voice. "The guy's corpse shall be dealt with swiftly."
"Whatever, shitnog. Be back here with your friends by the time you are done." Without saying goodbye, the head Rick hung up, leaving the possessed Rick to ponder his next move.
"Even with my abilities, I can only take so many before it reaches its limit. I need to plan my next moves wisely. When the time arises, my star will shine..."
Meanwhile, on a bus towards Seattle, a young girl sat on one of the seats, idily gazing towards the mountainside. Marisa Kirisame held on tight to her luggage as she saw a sign in the highway and spoke. "Soon, I'll be there with you. I've prepared this long, and I'm not gonna let it go to waste." The bus continued its trek towards the highway, heading closer towards the city with the Space Needle.
Heh, it's been rather quick compared to the last chapter. In truth, I prewrote this a couple of times, and I got to say, I'm glad with the end result. For what you saw on Evil Morty's role, I honestly changed things up a bit. We do not know what Evil Morty's end goal is currently, but from what I do know, he has taken over the Citadel of Ricks for whatever purpose is yet to be revealed, supposedly making him the big bad of the story.
Seeing this, I thought that since this is a Touhou crossover, added with the fact that I did not want another Evil Morty clone, I decided to do something a little more original with it and integrate some of the Touhou elements into this. Thus, this mysterious being had possessed Evil Rick to complete its mysterious goals, and like with Evil Morty, it will return. As for its grudge, take a wild guess. I've also taken some inspiration from other fics among some things that went into my mind during my time writing this story, and I integrated them into it just like that.
Other than that, I have not that much to say, other than be prepared for this next episode, where Reimu will reunite with Marisa. You might know what comes after the tenth episode, so I don't have much to talk about. Other than that, see ya, and I hope you have a happy Independence Day!