Rick took a gulp of his flask as he aimlessly wandered in the darkness of Morty's subconsciousness , only an echoing ghost of his footsteps reaching his ears.

"This is wh-AUUOOHH-t got Morty's panties in a knot?" He muttered in annoyance, growing impatient. "Numbness or some shit? Cute, but I don't have fucking time for this kind of-"

"Hello?" The weak, but unmistakable voice of his grandson snapped him out of his angry rant.

Rick tried to follow the direction of his voice, letting out a sigh of relief when slight lifeless light came out of the ground around his grandson, highlighting Morty's hunched up form just a few feet ahead.

Morty was loosely hugging his arms, twitching eyes moving his head along as they darted around in a paranoid gesture. His quick shallow breaths rang in Rick's ears.

His unfocused eyes skipped over Rick, obviously not seeing him, which made Rick relax. That meant no extra caution was needed.

"Hello?" Morty called out louder this time, his voice shakier and carrying more horror, which Rick confusedly frowned upon.

A sob escaped the boy as he started to frantically run around in circles, whimpering out indistinguishable words.

Meanwhile Rick just watched ahead, dumbstruck.

There was nothing there. But Morty looked like he was going insane. It could be loneliness bothering him, but Jesus Christ, where the hell did Rick come in? He'd be very offended if Morty didn't count him as a decent companion. Well, maybe not decent. But a companion nonetheless.

The more Rick watched the teen, the less sure he got about his answers. He seemed to be dreading something, but at the same time, desperate to find it. And that made absolutely zero sense to Rick.

Suddenly, a helpless whine caused him to look up. Morty was now surrounded by blue crystals.

"Please.." Came out the first coherent word Rick had heard him say in the last ten minutes.

"Please what?" Rick huffed in frustration. "At least gimme a yes or no. How the fuck am I supposed to work with this shit?" He mumbled.

Morty's panic only caused him to trip and fall on a bunch of crystals. As his eyes became even more unfocused and he blindly flung his arms around to find the motherfucking ground for his weight support, Rick recognized his reaction as a result of touching death crystals.

Morty was scared of death crystals? His death, maybe?

"No, no, no, no." Morty chanted anxiously as he scrambled to get up. "Not allowed to ask for it." He hurried out with a haunted tone.

Rick narrowed his eyes, eyeing him in a staggered manner as he walked closer to the panicking boy.

Not allowed to what-now?

A dark substance made its way up to the ground, covering the crystals completely before climbing up Morty's left leg. To Rick's horror, Morty only watched the black goo snake around his pant leg with a tired longing gaze.

"I wish it were this easy." His voice cracked at the end.

Rick's concentration broke as he heard a hissing noise in the distance. Soon enough, an army of snakes were attacking Morty while he made no serious protests as they bit him.

"Can't. Escape."

"Escape what?" Rick gritted his teeth.

Rick lost count of the things that happened to his partner while he sat there, eventually whining in cryptic, confusing, and somewhat remorseful monologue. Scattered around him were the dead bodies of Gromflomites, snakes and many species Rick easily identified.

But as the nightmare went on, Rick suspected there was more than one specific event haunting Morty's REM sleep. What was the bigger picture here exactly? Morty dealt with traumatizing shit in his dreams? That'd be a solid answer if it weren't for Morty's weird comments every once in a while. And the fact that while hating every second of it, Morty had given in a long time ago.

"Stop fighting!" Echoed an entirely different voice.

Aaand there was his answer.

"Just let this happen." Rick's bored expression turned alarmed. He knew that line too well.

He blinked and a silver-colored being was added to the monsters attacking Morty, but this one seemed to go further than just hit or bite him. A hand went under his shirt.

A sudden image of Morty on the verge of tears invaded his mind. His shaking voice begging him to go home.

He clenched his fists, painfully aware of how he couldn't interfere with the dream. He had set the setting on viewing mode. That meant no interaction with whatever wasn't his own body.

That child-molesting motherfu-

Morty whimpered, finally starting to squirm and push away after taking all that beating. His clothes were torn out of his body by that point.

"Stop being such a fucking tease, you sweet little twat!"

Rick squeezed his eyes shut as his eyes caught the movement of.. something crawling closer the teen's ass.

Morty's sharp ear-fucking screech echoed in the boundless space of nothingness that was his mind.

Rick silently gulped, ignoring the painful tug at his heart.

"Fuck OFF!" He finally snapped, his voice broken and cracking.

Surprisingly, everything did fuck off and melted into the ground. They were back to square one, except Morty looked like shit.

He let out a scream accompanied with a half-sob.

"Oh, suck it up."

It took Rick a second to process that he wasn't the one who said that. Dream Rick appeared out of thin air, walking towards Morty with a look of distaste. "Jesus fuck, you smell like shit. You look like shit too!" He scoffed cruelly.

"Yeah." Came Morty's quiet reply.

Something started to nag at Rick, but he pushed it aside for now.

"Well, get your shit together." Dream Rick rolled his eyes. "Don't think about it. Your teen angst interferes with my work here, dipshit."

Rick wasn't that inconsiderate... right?

"I'm sorry, Rick." Came the same tired voice.

"Well your apology's worthless." He spat out, making Morty flinch. "If you're going to be a bitch about everything, no one will want you around. Got it?" Morty nodded meekly. "Well, take my advice, 'cause I ain't dealing with your shit pal. No more of this sentimental bullcrap or you'll be replaced." He jabbed a finger at the top of his head. "Don't forget how easy it is for me to do it. Don't pretend like you didn't see the coupon, Morty." Rick's stomach dropped.

Could that be why Morty'd been so twitchy and distant lately?

"C-could you please kill me after you get another Morty?" Morty intoned, horrifyingly calm. Rick stared in terror at the exchange.

Dream Rick sneered. "Ugh, pathetic. But I might as well give you a hand with it. Wha-whatever."

And suddenly the dream Rick wasn't there anymore. Morty started to rock back and forth on the ground.

"Can't have fun... Deserve to suffer... Don't be a bitch. I-I can do that." The painful smile growing on his face was enough to make Rick aware of the tears wetting his own cheeks. Oh, god.

Oh god.

What the fuck was that?

"I don't want to do that." A pitiful voice broke the newly formed silence. All Rick saw was a pile of green goo.

His toxins.

"You have abandonment issues." Said another Morty-voice, more cold and disapproving. Rick recognized him as the detoxified sociopath Morty apparently wanted to be. They both stood over the boy who had curled himself in a ball.

"But I just want to die." The first one whimpered.

"Stop letting everyone down." Healthy Morty sighed distastefully and kicked the torso of the shaking teen on the ground.

"I don't want to lose them."

"You're a useless dependant walking corpse."

"Jesus." Rick muttered.

"They don't feel like my family."

"Because yours are dead." 'Healthy' Morty stated, staring at his opposite dead in the eye. "Deal with it. Suck. It. Up." The last few stressed words came out as an unavoidable order.

"I'll suck it up." Morty promised miserably after a while, as if the point of the whole torture was to make him say that very sentence. "Please just let me sleep."

Rick blinked in surprise as the two parts of him dissolved and crept onto Morty's body, remerging with him.

He knew he was in a nightmare.

He said he can't escape. He meant he couldn't escape death, and he couldn't escape life.

He was stranded.


Rick's eyes shot open as he sat up straight. He sighed before getting off Morty's floor and taking the dream inceptors out of their ears. Rick stared at the sleeping face of his grandson in the dark. It was scrunched up in what he'd call a disturbed way; Something he usually would have ignored.

But he stood there for a full minute or two, watching him breathe, shaky and unsteady. A small whimper escaped his lips and Rick found himself struggling with a useless swirl of emotions stirring up inside him. To shut it up- and for that reason only, he bent down and caressed Morty's cheeks with two long fingers, calming down once his troubled expression softened up a notch.

He leaned down further and pressed his chapped lips softly against Morty's sweaty forehead, closing his eyes. He let his gesture of affection linger perhaps longer than necessary, only to- and only to silence the voice that urged him to do so.

Finally content, he pulled away and straightened, his train of thought lost as his bored gaze was met with Morty's wide open eyes and agape mouth.

Rick tensed, probably flushed with embarrassment, but thankfully the dimness in the room made it impossible to notice.

"R-Rick?" Morty looked up at him incredulously.

"Just go to sleep, Morty." He groaned, rubbing a hand on his face in exasperation.

"If it were anything else, I wouldn't have objected." He joked lightly, like he wasn't just having a mental breakdown a few minutes ago, literally mental.

It made Rick wonder how long he'd been suppressing all his stress with unreasonable guilt. "We're going to have a talk tomorrow." He finally announced.

"I won't leave this detail out." He grinned cheekily.

Rick rolled his eyes, even though it was ineffective in the darkness of the room. "Trust me, there's so much shit to discuss, you'll completely forget about the fucking details."

"We'll see about that." He teased in a sing-song tone. Rick would never admit- even under heavy torture how his ears warmed up in frustration and embarrassment.

"I guess we will." He huffed before making his escape through the door. "Get some rest, kiddo." It came out softer than he intended.

He heard Morty snort behind him. "Weird-ass drunk." He shut the door, sighing in exhaustion that had yet to come.


Morty brought a spoonful of cereal to his mouth 'enthusiastically' as he flashed his father a fake smile that was too normal-looking to appear suspicious. Morty made sure he got it right in the bathroom mirror before he came down for breakfast.

Morty's cheeks were starting to hurt, but he just nodded to Jerry, encouraging him to talk further.

"..And sell those collections for just half the price you could buy the stuff inside it for separately!" He babbled with excitement. "And the company doesn't really lose any money, so you don't have to worry about scams or anything. Isn't is great?!" He practically giggled with joy.

"U-um, yeah dad. Seems really- really-rea- really cool." He confirmed with that painful smile. "Maybe you should buy one of them. You said you had a coin collection yourself, right? Expand it!" As Jerry opened his mouth, someone cleared his throat.

Morty turned around to see it was Rick, looking as unreadable as always. He felt his smile waver as he was distracted, but he put it back on before it showed. He felt a wave of anxiety wash over him as Rick's squinted eyes caught the movement and he pursed his lips.

"So," He took a deep breath. "I know I'm not supposed to drag Morty out of school or whatever, Beth. But, uh, this one's kind of urgent."

Before Beth could say anything, Morty slammed his palms on the table in frustration, a sudden wave of rage swallowing whatever part of him that wanted to keep the happy facade. Everyone jumped at the sudden sound.

"No." He didn't yell, but his tone was firm and barely controlled.

Then, he shrunk back. "I-I I meant, it's not that urgent, right?" He laughed nervously, brushing off his outburst. "Ca-can it wait after I come back from school, y'know?" He hopefully finished his question.

"Nope. It cannot." He popped the 'p', his bored demeanor adding to Morty's frustration. Even worse, he seemed to be done with his explanation as he offered no more words.

Morty sighed. He should've gotten used to this by now. "No, Rick. It's not even about Mom anymore. I don't want to go. That's basically kidnapping at this point." When his mother, sister and father all turned to Rick, waiting for his answer, Morty knew he'd won.

Rick tapped his foot under the table and huffed. "Why do you insist on not going on this adventure, Morty? What are you planning to do anyway?"

"Why do you insist on bringing me on this one, Rick?" Morty frowned. "This isn't the first time I've skipped out."

"Morty, I-" He suddenly seemed unsure, which alarmed Morty. "Look, I kind of, sort of very selfishly invaded your privacy last night." He sighed, pursing his lips.

Everyone went silent and motionless, Morty because he was confused, and others were.. well, horrified.

Rick seemed to notice it as he scanned the family's faces with a bemused expression. Suddenly his eyes widened when realization dawned on him. "What the fuck did you think-" He turned angry in a defensive manner. "The fuck is wrong with you people?! Don't be a bunch of prudes!" He growled. "Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no!"

Beth suddenly let out a breath she'd been holding. "Oh, thank god. I just thought I had to add another aspect of sickness to my image of you."

Morty made a disgusted noise. "Aw, jeez. Thanks a lot for giving me the idea Mom!"

Beth cracked a snorting laugh, probably in relieved hysteria. Morty turned his attention back at Rick, encouraging him to talk.

"We need to talk, Morty." He said seriously. "It can't wait."

"Then just do it right here." Morty raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking and feeling very tired. "I-I-I'm a bit worn out from yesterday, a-and it'll give my family some reassurance that you're not raping me." His sarcastic remark made Rick cringe and his mother burst out laughing again. Was she drunk?

"Don't even joke about it." Rick growled loudly and Beth stopped gripping her sides. Morty was shocked, to say the least.

"Um-"

"Ugh, suck it up." He mocked the best way he could with an eye-roll.

Morty froze.

Rick hummed loudly, seeing Morty's gaze fall down in apprehension. "You know what? You're right. Let's talk about it right now, hmm?" He squinted his eyes, not getting an answer in return. "Fine by me." He shrugged as the rest of the family watched them in interest. "So you asked the dream version of me to-"

"Stop!" Morty blurted tearfully. "Fine, let's go talk you ass." He gritted his teeth as he got off the table and grabbed Rick's arm, dragging him to the garage where his spaceship awaited them.

This was not Morty's lucky day.


Morty breathed in the thick atmosphere of Venzenulon-7, the air no quite filling his lungs.

Rick collapsed beside him with a grunt. "Okay, here's the thing." He tried, but Morty just stared ahead at the waterfalls. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Is spying on your dreams with a dream inceptor a jackass move? Yes. Did that stop me?"

"No." Morty stared at the ground. "You always do what you want."

"I didn't want that, Morty." He scrunched up his nose. "Why would I ever-"

"I don't care." Morty interrupted. "Whatever sick reason you had doesn't- m-maybe you were bored?" he shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you were feeling sadistic and decided to blackmail me?" He guessed tiredly.

"Fucking- do you really think that fucking low of me?!" He stared at him, incredulous. He just shrugged. "Morty, do you remember yesterday when you were hallucinating on our way back home? The numbing poison?" He ran an exasperated hand through his spiky hair.

"Um, I-I felt like I blacked out." He tried to concentrate.

"You kept saying 'Don't send me back to the darkness'."

Morty gulped.

"I wasn't feeling sadistic. I was fucking worried, goddamit!" He snapped. "I knew you'd just push me away if I asked, so I just- the only thing close to 'darkness' while losing consciousness is either death or slumber. And I don't think you've died before." Morty was speechless over the confession. "So I said, why not?" Rick seemed to be losing his energy as he gave a weak shrug. "And Morty, all the shit I saw in that nightmare.." He trailed off.

Morty hugged his knees to his chest. He averted his gaze as they met Rick's. "I'm sorry.."

He suddenly felt two hands grip his arms and shake him. "Why are you apologizing?!" Morty just blinked, not processing the situation. "Morty I'm not the Rick you imagined." He stopped shaking him, but didn't let go, his gaze desperate. "If you tell me you want to die, I won't shoot you in the head. I'll say me too. I'll say 'well, shit', and then do everything I can to change your fucking mind."

Morty felt his eyes fill with tears. "Rick.."

"Don't." Rick shook him again, breathing in a deep inhale. "Just let me finish up with my 'sentimental bullcrap' and deal with yours afterwards." Morty faintly smiled.

"Half of the bullshit I 'advise' you to do is just me being a hypocrite." Morty sniffed and blinked in surprise. "You can't not think about it, Morty." His grip loosened. "It's inevitable that you face all the things you threw in the back of your head. Unless you plan on prolonging that so far that you die before it comes back to you. The alcohol helps me with that." He let go of the kid, slumping back on the ground. "But don't be like me."

"O-oh." Morty quietly said.

"You can tell me if they bother you." Rick offered awkwardly. "Believe me or not, buried back there, I swear I have some stuff called conscience and feelings. I can relate." Morty snorted.

"It- it's worth a fuckwad of self-loathing that.." Rick paused, expression painful. "That you think you need my permission to live or die." They both became awkwardly quiet.

"Jus- just don't fucking be like that." Rick helplessly forced out, tensing up. He really didn't know how to do this. "I- fuck me! Who- who cares about what I say?!" He had a feeling he should shut his mouth. "Don't- don't take me seriously, M-Morty."

Morty was looking at him, bemused by his words.

"Including right now. Don't take it serious, uh, yeah." He cringed. "It's almost never your fault." He frowned. "I don't get how you think you should live up to everyone's expectations or pretend everything is okay when you really don't feel like it is. No one's throwing you away." Morty started to say something and Rick knew exactly what. He silenced him with a look.

"And- dammit!" He tensed up, looking away. "I will never repeat this, got it?"

Morty crawled closer on the ground, his interest and curiosity piqued. "G-got it."

"The whole replacement thing is a hypocrisy too." He muttered in a low voice. "I can't remember how many times I've threatened you with that. But that coupon's just in case you ever die and I'll just have someone to help me stay in denial and not kill myself after." Morty took a sharp breath. "I can't ever replace you. I give too many fucks about the Morty I've been adventuring with from the start. I can't throw it away. I physically just can't."

"Rick.." Morty teared up and leaned closer to meet Rick's eyes. Rick stubbornly turned away further. For a moment, Morty felt hurt and a little rejected, but to his shock, Rick then sniffed.

"..get the fuck away from me." He sounded like he was trying his best to keep his voice steady.

Morty sat back, eyeing him with worry. "Jeez." They sat there for a few moments for Rick to fight off his tears.

"You don't have to look for an escape when- when there are so many possibilities to choose from." Rick said after a while, his tone losing its tender edge for the sake of his pride.

Morty nervously bit his lip. "It's easy to change places, but I..." He trailed off, sighing.

"Inner demons and shit?" Rick finally turned his head in Morty's direction, eyebrow arched.

"You were there, so why are you torturing me?" Morty narrowed his eyes, emotionally exhausted. "I promise I won't mumble creepy shit like I'm possessed anymore. Let's j-just- just go home." He attempted to convince him, desperate to get out.

"Your mind isn't somewhere you can change places that easily." Rick's eyes bore into his soul, his tone serious. "You have to push the theme out of it. And you can't move something when you're standing in it."

Morty gazed, stunned at the sincere and honest words. "I.. I can't do it alone." He softly finished his sentiment.

"You can't do it when you're standing in it." Rick repeated, his words taking a tone of annoyance.

"I can't do it alone." Morty beamed, taking pleasure from his partner's irritation.

Rick rolled his eyes. "I never said that."

"Aw, Rick!" Morty grinned wider. "Look at you, acting all corny! Did my sentimental personality finally rub off on you?" He teased.

"I guess it did, kid." Rick surprised him by saying instead. He looked amused.

"I think you forgot something though." Morty hummed thoughtfully.

"I think that's all." Rick finally relaxed, realizing the heavy talk had come to an end.

"Of course you would." Morty giggled and Rick focused on him, alarmed.

"Uh-huh." Rick commented, appraising him with a suspicious look.

"Now how about I get another kiss for my boo boos?" He batted his eyelashes at Rick innocently.

Rick's eyes widened in terror and jumped into standing position. "Nope. We're done."

Morty tugged on his sleeve and brought him down, bursting in hysteric laughter. "Oh no, no, no! I'll make you a deal, though. I'm good with just a hug!"

"You're not getting a fucking hug!" Rick pushed himself up and frantically tried to reach the ship, a laughing Morty getting dragged on the ground behind him.

"Rick, you hypocrite! You said you'll do anything to change my mind!"

Rick stopped in his tracks. "You sneaky bastard." He chuckled, in spite of himself. "You're just fucking with me."

"No, I swear!" Morty stood up grinning, holding up his hands in surrender. "All the motivation I need to wake up in the mornings is a reassurance that someone'll be waiting for me." He said dramatically with drastic hand gestures.

"You're not allowed to say wise shit like that." Rick crossed his arms with an eye-roll. "That's my role right now, bitch."

"What, because you can't be the one uncomfortable and vulnerable?" Morty challenged.

Rick's eyes widened and he stared, slack-jawed.

Morty smirked in victory, opening his arms wide. "Buckle up, bitch." He whispered with squinting eyes.

Rick scoffed and reached out a hand behind the nape of his neck instead, bringing his head closer and kissing his forehead softly, just like he had the night before.

Morty held his breath in delighted shock and counted to seven before Rick broke the contact, bringing him in for an embrace instead.

Morty hummed excitingly and hugged his grandfather tight.

"You must think you're sooo clever." Rick grumbled, though he wrapped his arms around his grandson's shoulders affectionately.

"I wouldn't dare." Was his energetic reply.

"Well, you should reconsider." Rick sighed, moving his palm up and down on his back soothingly. He hesitated for a moment before pressing his lips on the top of Morty's head. Morty basically purred.

"... Wait until Summer hears about this."

"... I will kill you on this spot."

"I was joking!"