The next morning, Summer was surprised to find herself alone on the couch; Morty was gone. She was relieved when she heard sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen. It made her smile, because the laughter belonged to Morty, whose laughter she hadn't heard before. Even more inviting and surprising were the smells of an alluring breakfast. Since when did Morty know how to make his own breakfast-?
"Grandpa-!" Summer began to say, then quickly blushed when she remembered how much he hated labels, "you made breakfast!" He really had-it was quite the spread, as the table was already scattered with plates filled with eggs, sausages, pancakes and even bacon to boot. She was impressed, as well as pleased by the display, to say the least. He was even wearing a chef's hat. Where had he even gotten that? she wondered with amusement.
"Hope you're hungry, kiddo." Rick was actually smiling at her, which gave Summer pause. "We've got a full day ahead of us, right Mort-Morty?" He winked in Mortimer's direction knowingly.
"Hell yeah!" Mortimer threw his fists up into the air with excitement. "I'm down!"
Summer glanced sideways at this strange version of her brother. "Since when did you say things like that?" Summer muttered with confusion. "Also, where are we going?"
"Mort here is gonna get himself his first free pass to Blips 'n' Chitz!" Rick slapped Mortimer's hand, giving him a high five as though they were old friends. "You ready for this, Lil' Buddy?"
" 'Lil buddy'?" Summer frowned, narrowing her eyes with suspicion at Rick. "Since when do you even talk like that?"
"Geeze, Summer." Rick snorted as he handed over a full plate of eggs. "Don't be such a Debbie Downer." He winked at her as though they shared some secret. "You know the ropes-what should we tell Mortimer about good ol' Blips 'n' Shits?"
"Stay away from Roy 4." Summer didn't even bat an eye. She shuddered visibly at the memory.
" 'R-Roy 4'?" Mortimer echoed, mystified by the name and seemingly oblivious to her reaction. "That s-sounds so cool! What is it, Rick?"
"Only the sequel to the best game in the entire multiverse, dawg!" Rick exclaimed. "She played Rebecca, but you, you'd be better off sticking with playing Roy Jr….Roy Jr has a WAY better outlook on life….It-it'll knock your socks off! Don't listen to her, Morty," he added in an almost conspiratorial fashion, as he reached over and gave the kid a noogie with his fist. "You, you can handle it!"
"I could have played Roy Jr.?" Summer glowered at Rick. "Thanks for the heads up! That game gave me fucking nightmares for weeks, Rick."
"Geeze Summer, chill a little." Rick stood at the bar and shoveled down his own eggs as though he hadn't eaten in a million years. "You, you're taking it WAY too seriously-it's JUST a freaking GAME." He paused and observed Summer for a moment, who continued to glare back at him, letting her eggs turn cold. "Wh-what is it, that time of the month?" Rick mused. "Looks like you must've gotten up on the, on the wrong side of the bed or some shit, amirite?"
"None of your fucking business Rick!" Summer barked, horrified by his line of questioning, especially in front of their guest. She abruptly pushed her eggs aside and got up from the table. She didn't understand why he was "Mr. Personality" all of a sudden, but it was royally pissing her off.
"Hey-you're coming with us," Mortimer blurted out somehow with his mouth still full eggs, "right Sum-Summer?"
Summer froze in the middle of the room. She hated Blips 'n' Chitz, but she didn't want Mortimer to be there without her. "YES," she snapped with exasperation. "I'll go! But I'm NOT eating his stupid goddamned eggs!"
She stormed off to the sound of both Rick and Mortimer mutually howling with laughter.
Mortimer had been to outer space before with his Rick, but he had never gotten to ride in the passenger seat. He'd always been in the cargo part of the ship, because Rick had never allowed him to sit up front. This Rick however insisted he sit up front, and Summer sat in the makeshift pop-up third seat behind them. "Wow Rick!" Mortimer gushed. "I never knew you built this whole thing yourself-that's amazing! I-I wish I could do something like that!"
Rick was too amused to be annoyed by the kid's innocent admiration. "It was easy, kid-if, if you work with the right tools long enoug, you can make anything out of anything, any old time you like."
"R-really!?" Mortimer's eyes were wide with astonishment, and Rick just laughed. The kid was far too easily impressed; he could only imagine what he'd think of Blips 'n' Chitz. "So-so what do you DO at Blips 'n' Chitz?" Mortimer asked shyly as they whizzed through space. He'd never seen space from this angle before. He felt like nothing could touch him.
"You get to be a nerd and play video games," Summer chimed in.
"Way to dumb it down, Summer!" Rick groaned with irritation at his granddaughter. "It's-it's only the best freaking thing in the entire multiverse, bitches! It's, it's a blast, they've got all the latest technology! You'll LOVE Roy 4, Morty-it's an award-winning experience!"
"Wow!" Mortimer smiled wistfully. "I-I can't wait, Rick!"
Summer just rolled her eyes and stewed for the rest of the trip. She was really looking forward to saying 'I told you so'.
As it turned out, Blips 'n' Chitz was far more incredible than Mortimer had ever imagined it would be. He'd known that aliens existed, and he'd seen some when he was out with Rick on "errands", as he'd like to call it, but Mortimer had never been able to get so close in proximity to one. When they arrived at the arcade, Mortimer could only stand and stare, as his mind was overwhelmed by all the different colors and combinations of species all congregating in the same space.
"Wow…" Mortimer breathed. "Wh-what do I do first?"
"Take these," Rick handed him a bunch of tokens, so many that Mortimer could barely hold onto them. "They're your Flurbos, ya dig? They're your currency for the gaming machines-don't lose them! When you play the games, you'll get tickets. Hold onto the tickets, because you can win stuff-and you can win BIG!"
"Woah," Mortimer murmured, staring down at the shiny coins in his hands. He felt rich.
"And don't get lost." Rick chuckled with amusement.
"NOT funny, Grandpa Rick." Summer steered Mortimer in the direction of a set of easy-looking games. "C'mon, let's try these-"
"NUH-uh!" Rick steered him quickly in the opposite direction. "He's trying Roy 4 first, bitch! I gotta see if he can beat your score."
"You really think he's ready for that?" Summer watched with dismay as Rick plopped an unsuspecting Mortimer down in the Roy 4 seat and placed the cumbersome helmet on him.
Rick didn't respond. He simply pressed "START" and stood aside.
School had always been easy and fun for Roy Jr. He had a lot of friends, he was good at academics and his teachers all liked him. But something was missing. He couldn't figure out what it was.
His father encouraged him to become interested in sports like he was. Roy had been a football pro for most of his young adult life. He'd even made it into the Major Leagues. Roy Jr. however could hardly kick a ball, let alone throw one. He felt like a complete disappointment in the eyes of his father.
His parents were always trying to set him up with a girl. He hadn't met any he liked that they introduced him to through their friends. However, there was this one young woman who used to come in with her parents when Roy Jr. hung out at the carpet store with his dad. Roy Jr. knew his dad was proud of the carpet store, and so he was always listening to him talk about carpets. He enjoyed showing off the different carpets to Melissa, as the girl's name turned out to be. They wound up going on several dates, before they started taking things seriously.
Roy Jr. had never been in love, but he was definitely in love with Melissa. Then Melissa had to leave for college, it broke Roy Jr.'s heart. Around the same time Roy Sr. got cancer, and Roy Jr. realized he couldn't go to college just yet. He was conflicted because a part of him realized he could get into the same school that Melissa was attending. Yet his father was weak and needed assistance. Roy Jr. decided he would stay and help his father. He wound up staying for a lot longer than he intended. He wound up inheriting the carpet store.
One day Roy Jr. found himself trying to reach for a particular type of Persian carpet. It was at the very top of the stack. Roy Jr. had never been tall. He tried to grasp the carpet with both hands, and his fingers were just brushing the fabric when the ladder he was standing on suddenly began to wobble and shake. Before Roy Jr. could even realize what was happening, the ladder had slipped out from under him. He started falling down, down down down-
"ACK!" Mortimer gasped as he removed the helmet, his eyes partially dilated as he blinked, looking all about himself in complete and utter shock. The carpet store was gone, and so was his new clothes. "WH-wh-what happened!?" Mortimer blurted out, and his eyes widened when he saw Rick standing there less than one foot away. "Wh-who are you!? Wh-who am I!? Wh-where AM I!?"
"Calm down Morty." Rick came closer, but Mortimer only shrank away, terrified by this crazed-looking man with the wild blue hair that seemed strangely familiar. "It's Rick, remember? This, this is Summer-we-you're safe with us-"
"N-NO I'm not!" Mortimer was shaking because suddenly he remembered who this was. "Y-y-you're CRAZY! Y-you LOCKED ME UP and THREW AWAY THE KEY!"
Rick bristled at the boy's response but remained strangely silent.
"RICK!" Summer scolded, "I KNEW something like this would happen." She immediately ran over to Mortimer and grasped him by the arm, tugging her in his direction so that they were face to face. "Morty! Listen to me, okay? He-he's not the same Rick, Morty! He's BETTER than your Rick-he would never hurt you."
"Wh-what do you MEAN!?" Mortimer's eyes continued to widen and he was starting to hyperventilate.
"Don't you remember?" Summer crouched down in front of him. "He SAVED you-WE saved you! From the jail cell, that YOUR Rick kept you in! And-and he HEALED you-remember when you fell down the stairs the other day? That was because of HIM that you survived!"
"You…" Mortimer looked up at Rick, who looked suddenly several years older than he had a moment ago. "You're not the same Rick who tortured and abused me?"
"That's right dumbass," Rick smirked. "You got lucky, Morty. REAL lucky."
"S-sorry…" Mortimer looked painfully sad then. "W-what is this place again?" He glanced around as though seeing the room for the first time.
"Blips 'n' Chitz, dawg!" Rick cried out with glee, so loud that Mortimer jumped. The exhaustion seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye, as though Rick had injected himself with a youth serum. "You just beat your sister's score at Roy 4, dawg! You're gonna, you're gonna win the grand prize-let's GO!" Rick yanked Mortimer out of the seat by the hand, tugging him along the floor towards a banner that said "EVERYONE'S A WINNER at BLIPZ 'n' CHITZ!" The alien at the counter smiled down at them, as Rick handed over Mortimer's tickets from Roy 4.
"My goodness!" the alien gushed, "you're quite a gamer, aren't you, little guy!?" She smiled down at him, practically beaming with pride. "Congratulations!"
Mortimer blushed and smiled in spite of himself. "Th-th-thank you!"
It was all he could say because he was nearly knocked backward as Rick shoved a gigantic fuzzy stuffed animal into his hands. Mortimer wasn't even sure what this gigantic pink blob-looking thing was, only that it was surprisingly soft and comforting to hold. "Wow Rick!" he gasped, "You mean-I actually WON this thing!?"
"That's RARE Morty," Rick informed him, "Do you know how RARE that thing is!? It, it doesn't even have a proper NAME Morty! That's how RARE it is!" The stuffed animal looked like it was part blob, part hamster and part octopus. Mortimer had never seen anything like it before in his life.
"These things really EXIST, Rick!?" Mortimer had suddenly forgotten all about Roy 4. He could only stare at his newfound friend, and hug it as hard as he could.
"YES Morty!" Rick grinned. "They DO exist-in the Sugar Flats, on Planet Z19, Morty! You, you wanna SEE 'em?"
"Really Rick!?" Mortimer gaped at the man in amazement. "We-we can SEE them!?"
"Summer!" Rick called out, "let, let's go! We-we're going for a cruise-get your butt on over here-let's GO!"
Summer had been playing a game called "Bop a Bloop", which reminded her an awful lot like "Whack a Mole". She didn't like it as much as the original; quite frankly, in her opinion, it was kind of gross.
When she saw the gigantic pink stuffed animal in Mortimer's arms, Summer couldn't help but giggle helplessly like a schoolgirl. "Wow Morty!" she gasped, "that's the biggest, most fluffiest cutest companion I've ever laid eyes on!"
"I'm naming her Melissa," Mortimer sighed, "and I LOVE her!"
The name puzzled her, but in spite of her confusion, Summer couldn't help but laugh.
The Sugar Flats on Planet Z19 was a place that was chock full of craggy hills and seemingly endless amounts of colorful plants and other vegetation that neither Summer or Mortimer had ever seen. The Sugar Flats was the complete opposite of all of that. There was no vegetation, only an expansive amount of space.
"This is the Sugar Flats, Morty!" Rick announced. "I-it looks like it's pretty boring, right? Well, stick your finger in the mud-and then lick your finger-and get back to me!"
At first, Mortimer hesitated, but he did as he was told. When he licked his finger, it was surprisingly sweet. "Wow Rick!" he exclaimed. "Wh-what is this stuff?"
"SUGAR!" Rick laughed. "Dig in," he encouraged. "You won't find a place this sweet in a long, long time!"
Summer and Mortimer giggled with excitement as they filled up on the sugary mud of the Sugar Flats. The mud itself was almost like honey, but slightly thicker. It hardened in some places like amber, but others were soft enough to stick her finger straight through.
"Wh-what about Melissa?" Mortimer glanced around. "Y-you said they live here, right?"
"Keep an eye out," Rick informed him, "they pop their heads up outta holes like, like prairie dogs or some shit-"
"LOOK!" Summer pointed as a strange-looking magenta pink creature popped its head out and looked at them for a split second, before pulling itself back in.
Thankfully Mortimer had noticed it just in time. He giggled. "Wow!"
The three of them sat and ate sugar and watched the Flat creatures peeking in and out of their holes. And Summer suddenly realized that for a moment, she felt completely happy and content. This wasn't Earth, but she felt like she could stay there on that muddy rock forever. She never wanted to leave.
It wasn't until the two gigantic red suns had dipped below the mountains in the distance that they went home, fully satisfied by their outing, Mortimer having fallen asleep in the front seat with Melissa clutched to his chest.