Let The Ricks Fall Where They May

Written by Kat_Aclysm
Beta Read by Unlvcrjchick
Rated: - T for language

Disclaimers + Copyrights: This is a work of fanfiction. Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim animated comedy created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.

NOTE:An 11k chapter straight from the depths of hell. Some of this was written while I was on hiatus and some of this chapter came from a request by Sillycritter.
Ended up so big because of what had to go into it. Some of it was tedious AS HELL to write, but persistence paid off and it's finally done! Enjoy!


Soon enough it comes, here it is again
The slowly creeping hand of time and its command
Soon enough it comes, settles in its place
Its shadow in my face, undignified and lame

This life, well it's slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like I had planned

Soon enough it comes to tie us down

- These Days - Powderfinger


Chapter 10 – Shafted

November 23rd, 6:12am Local Time, 2001
Birdperson's Tree House
Bird World, Dimension Unknown


Rick had fallen asleep at some point with Morty nuzzled in the crook of his neck. Although the little boy had snored into his ear throughout the entire night, Rick couldn't have cared less; if it made him happy, then so be it.

As he woke up, the scientist felt bizarrely peaceful; getting everything off his chest had proven to be a very cathartic experience and the fact that his grandson had so willingly accepted him back was particularly freeing all by itself. There was a large trail of wet baby drool that had seeped down his neck and into his hair over the night but he didn't mind too much; after what had happened, Rick had given up to the point that he would simply accept anything Morty did to him. If he had any concerns about the fact he was becoming soft in his old age or too much of a pushover, they were certainly dashed by now; he was one hundred percent certain he was already there.

Maybe that wasn't even a bad thing.

The sound of heavy rain outside had been a factor in waking him up, but not unpleasantly so; it only added to his sense of peace and calm. He'd suffered through so many unnatural and unpleasant experiences over the past week alone that just hearing something so mundane as rain against the roof of the tree house brought a vague sense of normalcy back to his existence.

A muffled crack of thunder rolled through the heavily clouded sky somewhere overhead and Morty had woken up enough to grumble about it. Rick quickly settled him by patting him on the back; the last thing he wanted was for the little boy to wake up properly and start crying right next to his ear. When Morty seemed to calm again with relative ease, Rick was pleased and ruffled a hand through the youngster's hair. He did this partly to reward the behavior, but mostly because he just wanted to spend a little more time with him in the peace and quiet.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, kiddo." He told him in a low and gentle voice, not seeming to care in the slightest that he still appeared to be sleeping. "It's just a storm. It's nothing. It'll soon pass."

Now that Rick was more awake, his mind was already hard at work once again and pondering their next plan of attack. He was certain that if he only properly managed his time today, he could get the new portal gun to the point of being able to fire by the time the sun went down again. It was so close to completion now and it was positively driving him insane with eagerness.

Before he could think much more about time management, he felt a sharp, uncomfortable stirring in the pit of his lower gut. Rick sighed in annoyance and knew right away that this wasn't going to be something he could just ignore; he'd been eating nothing but root vegetables and hard fibrous grain since arriving on Bird World, and when things needed to move, they really did need to move.

Morty was in a good position to nudge off and the little boy didn't make a peep of protest when he was gently picked up and placed back down onto the cot. After making sure he was settled once again, Rick promptly got to his feet and retreated to the bathroom, needing to take care of the outstanding discomfort.

Unfortunately for him, Morty had been awake. The little boy sat up properly as he felt the weight beside him rise up from the mattress, only to watch his grandfather pace out of the room. He hastily pushed himself off the bed so he could follow, however, the bathroom door was already shutting by the time his short, little legs had allowed him to catch up. He began to bang on the closed door with his fists, whimpering in protest because he wanted to be in there with his favorite person. He had absolutely no concept of the word 'privacy'.

"Oh my god, Morty!" Rick called out to him from behind the door. "C-can't you give your grandpa five minutes of quiet time so he can take a shit!?"

Morty responded with another barrage of little fists on the door and even louder whimpering. "R-Rrriii!" He demanded, flattening his upper body against the door as if it would help somehow.

Rick lowered his head and conceded to the fact that he would just have to make Morty cry this one out; he didn't know how long he would be in there and he was mildly annoyed at the fact that there wasn't even anything to read.

The noise had already attracted the attention of Birdperson, who moved down the hallway and stood over the screaming child, staring down at him with bewilderment. He wasn't quite sure what the source of this one was just yet, but the small human was displaying unusual behavior indeed.

Morty ignored him and continued to pound on the door. He backed up, only to slam the weight of his whole upper body into the door again, escalating his noises of protest into full-blown crying.

"Rick, is this something I should be concerned about?" Birdperson asked suddenly. "I do not know what to do."

"How about just going away and leaving me alone, huh!?" Rick's frustrated voice yelled at him from the other side of the closed door. "Just leave him be, he'll get bored of it!"

Birdperson slowly nodded. "When you are ready, I have a glass bulb to give to you. It was delivered just after dawn, though you could be forgiven for not knowing when that was considering how overcast it is outside. The glassmith diligently worked on it all night because you needed it in a hurry. It was created to match your specification so I think you will be pleased."

Rick's anger seemed to have entirely disintegrated. "Oh, good news for once, huh? So what's the damage?"

Birdperson hesitated momentarily before his reply; he already knew that his friend was going to be upset. "The glassmith wants fifteen hundred schmeckles."

"Oh my god! Does he want both my balls, too!?" Rick's yelling voice echoed off the bathroom walls as he snapped back at him. "Holy fucking shit, w-where am I going to get that kind of money!?"

"Do bear in mind that most of the fee came from the fact that you needed it so soon, Rick. Do not worry, you will come up with a solution. You always do." Birdperson told him as he moved off down the hallway, leaving both Rick and Morty to what they had been doing. Though, he had to admit to himself that both humans were exhibiting such odd behavior that he found them to be even more strange and puzzling creatures than he had previously thought.

After another ten minutes, Rick felt much better about himself. After finishing up in the bathroom and washing his hands, he made a point of shooting a very-disapproving glare in the young boy's direction as he made his way back into the spare nest room. Although he was quite prepared to let his grandson do pretty much whatever he wanted, he still wanted to set boundaries and limitations.

Learning about privacy was going to be a very important lesson indeed. He didn't have the faintest idea how to start teaching it, or even if Morty's mind was developed enough to pick up the concept. It was quickly cast aside for more important thoughts.

Birdperson was already waiting for Rick at the workbench, the new plasma-containment bulb in his left hand. The scientist wasted no time snatching it up to inspect it under the light of the lamp on his desk, prepared to scrutinize every last millimeter to make sure it was up to his discriminating standards and genuinely worth the price being demanded of him. He plucked up a magnifying glass and scowled as he looked it over a second time, not seeming to mind when Morty thumped straight into his legs.

"Y-yeah, yeah, yeah..." Rick grumbled as he turned the bulb over in his fingers one last time, not being able to find a single flaw. He carefully dropped it onto the desk with the other portal gun parts and muttered under his breath in annoyance, tossing his magnifying glass across the desk on exhale. "Fifteen hundred fucking schmeckles it is. Tell him to give me two weeks..."

Birdperson nodded at him.

Rick's mind had let it go in another moment; it was what it was and he would have to accept it. He was already thinking ahead and his next words came out rather suddenly. "How easy is it to get into the ceramic kilns?"

Birdperson seemed confused; Rick was making yet another strange request, but he knew better than to ask. "How quickly do you need to get there?"

"As soon as possible," Rick shrugged in reply, "I also need to get into the metalworking shop so I can play with their forge. If I can get both of those things done today, we'll be all set. Then we can finally get out of your hair... uh... feathers?"

"I am taking off shortly as I have errands of my own to run." Birdperson's attention was out the nearest window and for just a moment he seemed ever so slightly unhappy. "I have already heard news that the weather will turn bad this afternoon, but it would not be a problem to drop you off. However, if you wish to remain safe, you will have to wait to be picked up again, possibly until after the bad weather has passed. It is an impossible feat to fly in heavy rain."

"Hrrrmpphh..." Rick scowled. "Give me another five minutes to take care of stinkbutt, he can come with. I... I-I can't really see any reason to leave him behind today," the scientist turned his attention down to the little boy still hugging onto his leg, "that is, if you can keep your goddamn mouth shut and play with the bribes I made for you."

Morty made a loud happy squeal in response despite the fact he had absolutely no idea what had just been said.

"Good," Rick grunted at him, "let's get this shit rolling."

After a quick diaper change, Rick stuffed Morty into the baby harness and clipped it up on his chest. He moved across the room and tore down some of his more recent gun blueprint designs, figuring that he could probably trade them off for something more useful. Next, he was back at the desk and picking up chunks of raw metal to throw into the backpack; he already knew the exact alloy ratios he needed to make the portal gun's metal containment casing layer and fully intended to take advantage of what he had available to him.

He just hoped the forge workers would let him play with their equipment; he would have to persuade them somehow.

Rick carefully packed away the portal gun parts and everything else he figured that he would need for the day and then he was out on the landing, the backpack lugged uncomfortably over his left shoulder. He had resigned to the fact that the setup made him look absolutely ridiculous, but it had become necessary in order for him and his grandson to function as a team.

As Birdperson picked them up and flew across the tops of the trees, Rick found amusement in the fact that Morty seemed absolutely thrilled to be in the air. Rick had done it so many times that it had lost its novelty, but seeing the little boy stare in wonderment like it was the best thing in the world brought a genuine smile to his face. He made a mental note to take Morty flying again in the future; he was sure they'd be doing it many, many times over the years to come if they were going to stay together.

Birdperson caught a sharp updraft with his wings and picked up speed, tearing across the landscape without a second thought. As soon as the small builder's district came into view below, he circled the airspace and made a cautious landing, being careful to drop the human and his precious cargo safely onto the ground in front of him.

Rick was thankful for the ride and after observing the distance from overhead, he knew that he would have wasted precious time just walking here. "Thanks, BP!" His tone was genuinely happy as he set his backpack down on the ground beside him. "I owe you one."

"No, you do not. And you never shall." Birdperson's reply was calm as he flared out his wings and took off again.

Rick sighed as he watched his best friend's form vanish over the height of the trees once again; it seemed that he was never going to shut up about being indebted to him. However, the scientist was quickly distracted by the area around him; several small, one-level buildings were teeming with activity and he had come here with a specific purpose in mind. Although he had no money, he fully intended to either trade away what he had brought with him, or throw his importance around and namedrop himself in order to pull favors. He didn't much like calling attention to what he had done for Bird World, but if it bought him something useful, then he was more than willing to abuse the tactic.

"You gotta stay close to me today, little buddy." Rick told Morty as he lightly drummed him on the head with the index finger of his right hand, his voice firm. "There's lots of shit that can hurt you out here and I don't want you getting lost." He picked the bag back up and headed straight in through the open doorway of the ceramic workshop. "I really mean it today, kiddo... stay where I can see you at all times. Got that?"

Morty responded with a delighted squeal, positively loving the game of being poked.

"What is the hatchling doing here?" One of the workers immediately grunted at the sound of the small child, his attention locked straight onto the strange, flightless biped in his work space, his expression turning suspicious. "No kids allowed." He stood up, reaching his full height. The male bird person puffed out his chest and ruffled out all his neck feathers in order to make himself look big and imposing.

Rick was utterly unfazed by the show of masculinity and simply narrowed his eyes in response. "He's with me, g-got a problem with that?" He growled back at him with just as much hostility, wanting to demonstrate that he wasn't about to be intimidated. "Do you know who I am? I'm Rick Sanchez, bitch. I'm the little human that saved your backwater dirtball of a planet. Show some fucking respect!"

The ceramic worker simply shrugged back at him. "We know who you are, the community has been talking about your return for days. Get to the point, why are you here? What do you want?"

"I wanna use your space to build something." Rick scowled back at him in irritation, though a part of him appreciated the fact that the other was uninterested in small-talk. "All I need is some tree-resin and clay - the same quality grade stuff you build armor out of. If I can get access to the kiln, I'll stay out of your way as much as I can. I've got too much shit to do and if you're not interested in who I am, I have stuff to trade if it will motivate you. So... you wanna barter, or are we gonna stand here all day? B-because I'm not leaving until I get what I want."

"Is that so?" The male's hostility evaporated and he suddenly seemed quite curious and interested in the human. "What have you got for me?"

Rick pulled out the first set of gun blueprints to show off, though the ceramic worker was completely uninterested. With a loud frustrated huff, the scientist laid out tools and screwdrivers onto the nearest workbench, dropping his own ionic soldering gun on the flat surface to the left of the clutter. Finally, he pulled out the disgusting bottle of cloudy wine that Birdperson had given him and set it down beside the other items, figuring that it couldn't hurt to put something familiar on display.

"If you want this," Rick made a point of tapping the soldering gun with an index finger, "it's gonna cost you big time. If you want any of the other shit, I don't care, take it. I-If you can wait a couple of weeks, I'll even pay you, hell... just let me use your space. I promise I'll be outta here as soon as possible."

To his complete surprise, the ceramic worker took the bottle of wine. Rick stared at him, wide-eyed; he hadn't expected that at all. He wasn't about to question it, though; if the guy wanted to drink terrible booze then that was on him. However, it did put his mind in two conflicting places; the bottle had come at no cost to him so that was no problem, but now he had nothing to drink all over again. He wished he had the sense to at least take a sip before handing it over.

Sobriety was never a good place for him to be because it always brought up some of the darkest thoughts and memories that he had done his best to suppress over the years. Rick quickly shrugged it off; he would deal with it later. As he picked the items back up, he stuffed them back into his backpack, keen to get to work.

Over the next hour, Rick experimented with resins and ceramic powders, mixing them up as he tried to work out the perfect ratio that would ensure that the final product would be high-heat resistant and shatter proof. Morty grumbled throughout the entire process; his grandfather was being boring and he couldn't move around or play with anything. Rick did his best to shut him up, but concentrating on doing the job well and keeping a baby entertained was a difficult act to balance.

After another hour had passed, Morty had fallen asleep, having decided it was a good time for a nap. Rick was relieved for the peace and quiet and used the time to sculpt the casing out in its entirety along with the small maintenance hatch he had incorporated into the design. It was still hollow and wet, which meant it would be extremely fragile until it was cured. He carefully set it down into one of the open, cold kiln shelves alongside other ceramic pieces that were ready for firing and slipped out of the workshop again, pleased with himself that he had finished one of the few remaining things he had left to do.

It was at this moment that he noticed that a heavy, cold breeze had picked up and that dark, ominous-looking storm clouds were looming on the horizon; Birdperson's prediction about the weather turning bad was right on the money. However, he couldn't possibly guess how deep the truth of that statement would become and shrugged it off like so many other thoughts as he headed for the metalworking shop, his mind far more occupied with getting things finished than the state of the sky overhead.

"OK, little buddy," Rick glanced down at Morty as he stood at the door, "you're being really good and I appreciate that. But this place we're about to walk into is r-UURRPP really fucking dangerous. There's lots of sharp pointy tools, hammers that can hurt you, and molten shit that could burn a hole through your flesh in an instant, s-so I need you to be on your best behavior for a few hours. Got that?"

Morty responded with a tired yawn and snuggled his head into the anti-puke guard of the baby harness, being able to hear his grandfather's muffled heartbeat through the layers of cloth and padding. He was warm and in a safe place, so little else mattered to him.

Rick shook his head and pushed his way inside, immediately being blocked at the doorway by a large muscular bird woman. As she held the door from being opened any further, she stared hard at him, her height towering over his lanky form.

"What are you doing? You should not be here." Her tone was harsh and unpleasant. "This place is going to be closed soon as the cloudwatchers have predicted a huge storm with hurricane force winds and flash flooding to the lowlands. They have said that the storm cell is going to pass right through this area. You would have to be completely crazy to consider staying here after receiving that kind of news."

Rick had to laugh at that; she obviously had no idea who he was. When he realized she was still staring at him, he shrugged his shoulders and launched straight into his next thought. "'Cloudwatchers'? I-is that some kind of superstitious bullshit you guys believe in?" The scientist placed his own hand on the door and continued trying to push it open. "Come on, lady, I'll be really quick. We'll be long gone before it arrives."

"No." She held the door in place, standing firm.

Rick attempted to give the door another shove, but she was much stronger than he was. "Come on, cut me some slack... y-you have no idea how important this is to me!"

The bird woman shook her head. "I mean it. I need to shut this place down and to make sure it does not get ruined by storm damage. This place is my livelihood and my hatchlings do not get fed if this place is not running in optimal form. You have young of your own, so surely you can understand that."

Rick was becoming frustrated and desperate. "Don't make me beg, please!" He stepped back from the door, locking eyes with her, glaring hard. "Do you even know who I am?" He paused, not wanting to push his luck and risk making her angry: he simply couldn't afford to be turned away. "Look... do you want me to help you lock the place down? What's it going to take to make you change your mind? I have shit I can trade you, I can pay you if you're patient enough... c-come on, help me out here, I really need this!"

The bird woman stepped back from the door, sighing as she conceded to the smaller creature's tenacity; his urgency seemed genuine enough. "Fine... but be quick. The only reason I'm letting you in here is because the forge is still hot," she paused, nodding at the child strapped to his chest, "but you have to leave your hatchling outside. The fumes in here can be overwhelming for us full-grown adults, let alone a small child. I would hate to see such a tiny, precious little thing be harmed by your own stupidity."

Rick's left eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. He had always hated being called stupid and had to bite his tongue to stop himself from exploding into a wild fit of anger; he wasn't about to risk increasing his chances of being kicked out.

"Fine, but... leave the door open so I can keep an eye on him, OK?" His voice was dangerous and low as he finally responded. He turned his back on her and took the wooden toys out of his lab-coat pockets, along with one of his flat-headed screwdrivers, figuring there was nothing harmful about it that could hurt his grandson. "Here you go, buddy, stay with these." He dropped the screwdriver and the toys on the ground just outside the doorway.

The stocky female nodded at him and repositioned the door so that it would stay open. "It is going to get windy and cold very soon. The forge will not go out if the door is open but you will need to work quickly."

"Yeah yeah, whatever!" Rick was fast losing what little composure he had managed to hold onto. "I'll show you the blueprints, you can see for yourself how critical it is that I finish this." He hurriedly took Morty out of the baby harness and placed him on the ground. "Do you hear me, little buddy? DON'T move."

Morty made small cooing noises in response and immediately sat his rump in the dirt. He picked up the tiny, wooden portal gun to turn over in his hands and despite the fact it didn't make noise, the bright colors were still enough to hold his interest, at least, for a short time.

"Good." Rick headed inside and dumped the backpack onto the top of the nearest workbench, ripping out one of the blueprints to wave at her. "See this? I need to make it as quickly as possible." He pulled out two large chunks of raw metal and practically slammed them down onto the table. In another moment he had a pen out and was hastily scratching out calculations across the top of the paper. "I have palladium and aluminum here. I don't know how common these elements are on your planet but I need to melt them down and make an alloy sheet, and then cut it out like this..."

The female bird person watched carefully as the strange wingless biped began working, and then stood over his other blueprints, immediately recognizing some of the older designs.

Meanwhile, Morty was fast becoming bored. He picked up the screwdriver, but it didn't make noise and there was nothing fun about it. With a clumsy backhanded pitch, he threw it straight into a patch of weedy bushes nearby, finding only momentary amusement in the activity. His interest was quickly captured by watching several spiked leaves skitter across the stoned pathway nearby as they were dragged through the air by rushing wind. It was at that moment he heard a harsh crack of lightning across the sky, and his attention was drawn towards one of Gresharak's hatchlings. He saw her running but couldn't understand why. He called out to her but she didn't respond.

Morty moved to his feet, feeling conflicted; he remembered something about being told to stay there, but as he peered back through the open doorway, he could already see that Rick wasn't paying even the tiniest amount of attention to him. All he could see now was that the spiky-haired man held up pieces of blue paper as he launched into a full explanation with a stranger about things that he couldn't even begin to comprehend or understand.

The little boy clutched the wooden portal gun toy tightly in his little hands as he ran across the open area, trying to catch up to the older child in a clumsy, uncoordinated run. He called out to her again as he chased her across the open area of the small village, this time much louder; he wanted to show her his new toy.

The female hatchling didn't seem to hear him. She simply continued her retreat, spooked by the loud storm activity that was developing overhead. She dove into some shrubbery at the edge of the village and began to cower in amongst the dense spiked branches, her entire body quivering with fear.

Morty became frustrated as he continued to follow, calling even louder as he moved straight into her space. The young boy made a sharp, wordless grunt as he held the portal gun toy out towards the little girl, wanting to share it with her.

The young female looked up, staring back at the little boy with wide, frightened, tear-stained eyes. "Morty...?" She squeaked at him, her voice very quiet. "Why are you here?"

Morty immediately replied with another loud, demanding sound, only one thought persisting in his baby thoughts; he thrust the small wooden toy into her feathery chest, poking her hard with it. Why didn't she find it as interesting as he did?

The little girl took the portal gun in one hand, confused by its foreign shape, not even remotely understanding its significance to him. "Are you lost? Where is your papa? Do not worry, I lost mine, too..." Before she could say any more, every feather on her body bristled at the sound of cracking thunder overhead and she took Morty by the hand, dragging him out of the bushes again. "We need to go!"

Morty was confused as the little girl grabbed him, and he stumbled as he was hastily pulled along with her. For a short moment he was worried that Rick would be mad, but it was quickly forgotten; this looked like a new game and he wanted to see where the girl was going to go. He ran with her pace as best as he could manage, using her steady grasp to keep himself balanced, not caring one whit about the bad weather. He was just happy to be led off to wherever she would take him.


Rick repeatedly brought a heavy, metalworking hammer down onto hot pliable alloy, smacking the shape down until it spread out. After many more coordinated whacks, he had molded the shape into a flat piece of metal sheeting. As he pulled the protective goggles up off from his eyes and set them on his forehead, he picked up a set of forceps to turn the sheet of metal over, taking a moment to admire his handiwork. It didn't last long, however; all it took was one look at the deteriorating conditions out the nearest window and he was back at it, positively determined to get as much done as possible before he was kicked out.

After another round of slightly-more-urgent hammering, he was finally satisfied and set the tools aside. He could already see that the bird woman was staring at him expectantly and he guessed it was a cue to indicate that his time was up. He yanked the heat-protective gloves off both hands and tossed them onto the bench beside the hot metal, immensely irritated; he had wanted to get so much more done.

"Y-yeah I know... time to go, right?" Rick's tone was bitter as he spoke. "I know when I'm not wanted."

"No. I have a blast shelter downstairs. It was built during the war and I use it for times like these. You can take your things downstairs until the storm passes." The female continued to stare at him, her expression growing concerned. "I was actually going to ask where your hatchling went... I did not see him come inside and he is not out there anymore."

"O-oh my god..." Rick's heart skipped a beat and he felt his blood run ice cold. He rushed to the doorway, but all he saw was the tiny, wooden spaceship, lying there all by itself on the soggy ground. "No... NO!"

"It is all right, he probably didn't get too far away." The female suggested, her voice quiet.

Rick ignored her entirely, her words not even registering in his mind. He picked up the wooden toy and stuffed it back into his lab-coat pocket, his eyes quickly scanning the immediate area outside the workshop. However, Morty was nowhere to be seen and the village was abandoned. "Morty? Morty!? Where the fuck are you!?"

"Maybe he came inside?" The female suggested again, her voice vaguely hopeful. "Hatchlings like to sneak and prowl, you know, mayb-"

"For fuck's sake, he isn't a hatchling!" Rick snapped harshly as he cut her off, the last shreds of his composure completely gone. "We're not like your species at all! He's not smart, h-he... he's a dumb little kid who hasn't developed enough sense to know what danger is. He's a walking meat sack that slobbers and shits itself!"

"Well I didn't mean t-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what you think!" Rick bellowed at her as he ran into the middle of the village, completely forgetting everything else he had just been doing. "Morty!? Where the hell are you hiding, y-you stupid piece of shit!?" He positioned both hands at the sides of his mouth and called out again. "MORTY?!" He scanned the immediate area once again, but saw nothing. It frustrated him immensely; Morty had been wearing bright yellow clothes, so he would have been obvious to spot.

Rick was becoming frantic, his mind growing completely irrational. This was completely beyond anything he had ever had to deal with before and it scared the hell out of him; every ounce of his being was worried for Morty's safety and he began panicking. He knew Bird World had predators and that a helpless little boy like his grandson would easily become a quick meal if the opportunity only presented itself.

He would NOT let that happen if he could help it.

Rick knew that if he didn't find him soon, he would perish relatively quickly; he was little more than a baby and far too young to take care of himself. He also knew the weather was only going to get worse and if the little boy was caught out in it, he would likely freeze to death; rain combined with gale-force winds would sap the life out of anything that was dumb enough to stay out in it.

Dark rain clouds were swollen overhead and rumbling thunder accompanied them, threatening to break loose at any moment. He didn't care. He began running as if his life depended on it, disappearing into the dense underbrush beyond the village. His voice became harsh and sore as he called the same thing out over and over again in his desperation.

"Morty?"

"Morty?!"

"MORTY!?"


Rick continued running, the tail of his lab coat flaring out behind him. His eyes constantly scanned the dense forest as he went on, looking for a flash of yellow amongst the trees, a different color, any kind of sign, anything even remotely different that wasn't a plant or a rock. For how long he ran, he didn't know. He wanted a drink. He felt nauseated. He wanted to throw up but couldn't; he didn't have time to waste on such things anyway.

At that moment, there was a deafeningly loud crack of thunder overhead and a torrent of rain belted down from the heavens above. In less than three seconds, Rick was saturated from head to toe; his cold clothing uncomfortably clung to him and his hair was completely flattened in wet soggy clumps.

As he kept running, his muscles burned like they were pumping battery acid. He pushed through it and kept going, his travels taking him into dense temperate forest. He still hadn't found anything yet and his mind was beginning to conclude that the situation was probably beyond hopeless already; he wasn't even sure which direction Morty had run off to in the first place, let alone how to find him without any kind of directions, instructions, or tracking devices.

Rick heavily leaned his weight against a giant, hundred-year-old oak tree as he came to a stop, completely worn down by running and the fact that he had worked himself up into such a state of panic. As the scientist buried his face in his hands, his mind began to give in to despair and he mentally berated himself for being inattentive as well as being so stupid as to put his work before the needs and safety of his family. It was what he had always done, it was just habitual. It had never done him any favors and it certainly wasn't doing him any now; it may have just cost his last living relative his own life.

"Stupid... s-so fucking stupid..." The spiky-haired man slumped down, his back scraping against tree bark as he sank into a defeated sitting position. The sound of heavy rain thrashed down all around him and he began to shiver as the harsh cold sapped the heat out of his soaking-wet body and clothes; he still didn't care. He couldn't have cried at this point even if he had wanted to; his mind was giving up. If Morty was gone, he was completely done. He literally had no reason left to continue existing.

A faint cry suddenly rose above the cacophony of the storm and Rick sat bolt upright, his eyes widening in momentary hope; it sounded just like a child's voice. He held his breath as he waited for another and then began to wonder if he was going crazy, or if his mind was playing cruel tricks on him.

When he heard it again, he was back up on his feet and running all over again, heading in the direction of the sound with renewed energy. "Morty? I-is that you? Oh god, call back to me, buddy! C-come on, where are you!?"

The sound brought Rick into a clearing amongst dense trees and his heart sank at his next discovery; one of Gresharak's hatchlings was shivering out in the open and crying for help in between her sobs. She was utterly miserable and her feathers made a pathetic attempt to puff out and retain heat, though she was completely drenched and it did nothing for her.

Rick shook his head and made his way over, crouching down in front of the little girl. "H-hey. You OK there?" Of course he knew she wasn't but it was all his mind could think of to say in the moment. "Let's get out of here, huh?"

The feathery, little female nodded back at him, teary-eyed. "I do not know where papa is..."

He placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her. "Try not to think about it. I don't know where we are, but that's never bothered me before. If you stick with me, I'll help you get back to him, O-OK?" Rick watched her closely, his expression turning serious. A powerful sense of guilt began to overcome him; she really wasn't who he had wanted to find at all, but he just didn't have it in him to leave her to die out here.

As he stood up again, he bent down to pick her up in his arms, another wave of guilt washing over him as he was reminded of a time when his own daughter was this small; he'd never held any love for her when she was a baby and he had resented the fact that such a screaming, tiny demanding creature had robbed him of all his free time and his very identity. He knew it was a stupid inopportune time for such a memory to intrude his thoughts, but he had difficulty in trying to put it out of his mind again.

The little girl seemed to relax for a moment, but then began to wiggle in protest again, upset as she was from the moment the human had found her in the first place. "No! We cannot go yet," she pointed to the hollow of a log nearby, "Morty is hiding in there!"

Rick's eyes widened as he stared at her, then his eyes immediately followed the line of her hand. Sure enough, he saw a scrap of dirty yellow amongst the pile of mud and plant debris inside the log; his grandson was curled up in a tight ball, his little body shuddering in the cold.

"O-oh my god... he was with you the WHOLE time?!" Rick was yelling now, but he wasn't angry at all. He set the girl down again, perhaps a little too roughly for her liking, and promptly dashed over to the log to reach in and drag Morty out by the scruff of his shirt. The tiny boy came out rather easily, though he was already grumbling in protest to being moved.

Rick promptly held him at arm's length, his expression wild and dangerous. Although he was more than glad to see the little boy alive, part of him just wanted to murder him for the stress he had just put him through. "What the HELL did I say to you, Morty?!" He was screaming, though the fact that he was still very much upset and worried quickly came back to the surface. "How many fucking times did I tell you to stay put? A-and yet, y-you couldn't even follow one simple instruction!? Do you have ANY idea what I've just been through? H-how could you DO THIS TO ME?!"

Morty stared back at Rick, wide-eyed and very upset. He knew he was in trouble and began to cry, flailing his arms out towards his grandfather in a pathetic display of guilt, begging for mercy, wanting to be hugged and to be forgiven. He had already been wet and cold to begin with, but being exposed to the harsh winds again made him shiver even more so than he had been before; he was miserable in every sense of the word.

"Just.. s-stop scaring me like that, OK?" Rick's voice was still harsh as he cuddled the little boy hard into his chest, clinging onto him, incredibly relieved just to have him back. Although he was angry at himself for upsetting him again, he was also incredibly frustrated; Morty needed to know that what he had just done was NOT acceptable under any circumstances. As he felt Gresharak's hatchling tug at the sopping-wet fabric of his pant leg, he looked down at her, his attention immediately falling on the wooden toy she was offering up to him.

"He dropped this..." The little girl shivered.

"Hah, you still have it, huh? Good." Rick took the tiny portal gun toy and stuffed it back into his pocket, momentarily amused by its presence. "If it was a real one, w-we would be out of here so quickly... what a pity." He awkwardly shifted Morty onto one shoulder and reached down to pick the girl up as well, somehow balancing both of them in each arm.

"We... we really need to get out of here, n-not even remotely kidding..." Rick told them as he shook his head, clearing his mind of all the conflicting thoughts running through it; how he felt about Morty running off didn't matter anymore. His voice shifted towards serious and authoritative, his mind now racing with all the survival strategies he had learned over the years. "W-we're going to die if we stay out here. So both of you, hold on and shut the fuck up so I can think..."

He took off again, this time moving at a brisk pace, pushing through all the fatigue and exhaustion he was feeling. There was nothing he could do to shield the small children from the full extent of the storm, yet he hunched his upper body over and tried anyway. For a moment he thought about turning back the way he had come to return to the village, or perhaps the tree-house community, but he didn't know how long that would take and storm damage would have likely changed the terrain far too much for him to recognize it. He also didn't know how much longer the small children in his arms could tolerate being pelted by the elements and it was already troubling him. He was uncomfortably cold and shivering himself and he knew that he would be more resilient to the deteriorating conditions simply because he was older and had more mass; that was a matter of basic science.

Rick headed further into the dense underbrush of old-growth rainforest, hoping that the thicker mass of ancient trees could do a better job of holding out against the storm and provide more of a buffer from the harsh winds. His shoes squelched through thick mud and rotting plant debris and there wasn't any kind of path or walkway, yet he made his way through anyway, forcing his way over dead branches and large uneven rocks. Some of them were loose but he kept his balance, his eyes constantly scanning the area around him for some kind of cover. He heard century-old tree branches groaning and protesting high above and the sounds of other far off branches snapping and cracking, their old boughs finally succumbing to the unabated forces of nature above.

Gresharak's hatchling protested to the sounds all around her, finding them absolutely terrifying to listen to; everything in her instinctive programming was screaming at her to run away. However, she decided to hold fast onto the strange human, even though it made no sense. She was vaguely calmed by Rick's steady, determined pace; he seemed to be very confident, at least outwardly. Either he was totally crazy, or he knew something that she didn't. She went quiet as she decided to trust in his level of expertise and knowledge, because there was little else she could do for the time being.

Rick continued his hastened pace, his expression steeled into firm determination, defiant and stubborn as he pushed through everything else he was feeling; survival was the only thing that mattered now. He knew that many others would probably lose their lives in the hours ahead, either by being caught out in it, being hit by lightning, or perhaps by being crushed by their own tree houses. Maybe they would drown if they were unfortunate enough to be caught up in the flooding.

He did not want to become part of that statistic.

A massive grove of conifer-like trees was up ahead, probably centuries old. Rick made note of the fact that there was less storm damage in the area and headed into it, though he quickly regretted his choice as he observed that water was rapidly spreading across the forest floor. It rushed past him as it picked up rocks and plant material and in a matter of seconds his feet were already six inches below water.

"Fuck..." Rick hissed, his jaw clenched shut just to keep his teeth from chattering. "A river must have broken somewhere... damn it!"

He stopped, scanning the area again, his attention immediately falling on an incline in the terrain ahead. If this patch of rainforest was going to flood, he needed to get to higher ground and fast; while he was more than capable of swimming, he knew for a fact that birdpeople couldn't and neither could Morty. Swimming with two terrified children clinging onto him while he was already freezing wasn't something he wanted to deal with.

His pace quickened and he soon broke into a run; Rick didn't have the faintest idea where the incline would take him but there was no way they could risk staying there. He was soon rewarded with slightly-less-mushy soil underfoot as he continued following the hill, becoming somewhat calmer when it suddenly steeped upwards.

Once at the top, his range of visibility was slightly better. He took another look at his surroundings, trying to determine where to go next, though he had to admit he had no plan and each of his choices thus far had been blind, uninformed guesses.

Both Morty and the girl were shivering as they hugged against the spiky-haired man, which only urged him to press on as they were clearly running out of time. He tracked across more ground, his travels taking him into a valley formation that had been eroded over time by the body of water at its lowest point. His eyes were already on the violent cascading river flowing at the bottom and he looked high above him, making note of an even larger steep incline, solid and steep enough to be considered a cliff; it was covered in small shrubs and ferns that haphazardly grew out amongst the scree all the way up the side. His eyes scanned the higher ground as he looked for anything that remotely resembled shelter; a cave in the side, a gap under under a tree root system, anything.

It was at that moment he found their salvation; a large, spotted predator prowled hastily across the unsteady ground, agitated by the rain. It snarled and made no effort to hide itself as it retreated, seeming to have no trouble as it deftly made its way across the scree. The predator's long, spindly tail flicked out behind it as it disappeared into a small den it had dug out in the side of the cliff.

Rick narrowed his eyes as he watched its every move, his mind going into overdrive. He knew the scree would make movement difficult, but the mouth of the predator's den was easily twenty feet above the current height of the river. He didn't know whether to risk using it or not, but if the river was going to rise that high, then he could just leave again and deal with as it came, just as he had always done. Although he wasn't entirely certain if the hole of the den would be big enough to fit him, it was definitely large enough to fit the two children he was carrying. The scientist shifted his gaze back towards Morty and the feathery girl, watching them shiver. They simply clung onto him, at his complete mercy. He didn't want to keep subjecting them to the cold and that hole was the best option he had right now.

Rick walked down the other side of the hill, carrying them across to a fallen tree, its innards chewed out by decay. He placed both children down and wasted no time stuffing them into the hollow log in the attempt to shield them from the cold. He was already resolving his mind to a half-assed plan that was utterly, utterly crazy, but it was all he could think of.

"OK... s-shit's about to get serious and I need you both to be very quiet," Rick's voice suddenly became authoritative and parental, and he took a moment to narrow his eyes hard at Morty as he spoke again, "you especially, kiddo. I need you to shut up more than ever, d-don't let anything hear you. This is a life or death situation and you'll kill us all if this fucks up. G-got that?"

Morty didn't respond; his grandfather was being angry again and it upset him. He offered no protest except for tiny whimpers at the back of his throat as he was placed inside the log, prepared to shut up and do whatever he was told just because he just wanted to get out of there.

The little girl nodded at the scientist's instructions and blocked the entrance with her body, using her wings to buffer Morty from the worst of the cold bite in the wind.

Rick offered her a vague grin, genuinely pleased that she seemed so concerned about the little boy's well being. He knew his trust in her would not be misplaced and the small gesture only cemented his desire to protect her as well.

"You, feathers," he crouched down outside of the entrance to the log, the tail of his already-drenched lab coat becoming even more fouled up by the sloppy wet mud all around him, "you're older than Morty, so in my absence you're the one in charge. I need you to keep him quiet and make sure he stays in there with you until I get back. D-do you think you can manage that?"

The little girl nodded once in agreement.

"Good," Rick narrowed his eyes harshly as he returned his attention to the mouth of the den, mentally steeling himself for what he was about to do, "because Grandpa has to go and kick some ass."

He rose to his feet again and began to bound across the valley. Rick took the small whittling knife out of his lab-coat pocket once he was across the river and wasted no time scrambling up the other side. His wet, soggy clumps of hair partially obstructed his vision and he nearly lost his footing several times on the hundreds of tiny loose rocks underfoot, but once he was at the entrance to the predator's den, he began to taunt the creature inside in the attempt to lure it out.

"Knock, knock, bitch!" He panted the words out, a wild toothy grin coming over his face; this plan was utterly insane and he knew it. "Something's about to die, a-and it sure as FUCK ain't gonna be me!"

The large, spotted animal made a loud warning hiss and immediately appeared at the mouth of the hole, lured by the fact that prey would so brazenly challenge it at the front door of its own home. The beast saw an easy meal and rushed forwards to charge at the human with outstretched clawed paws, but Rick was quicker; he darted out of the way and once it was within striking distance, he sprang straight onto its back, slamming it down with his entire body weight.

Both creatures began to tumble out of control as they fought down the scree, but Rick held on as claws flew at him. With one hand tightly gripping the pathetic little knife, his other arm was locked around the cat-like creature's torso as he stabbed it with every ounce of his strength, repeatedly plunging the blade into its ribs with careless abandon until the beast was finally weak enough to stop fighting him.

Rick put his feet out and dug his heels into the ground once the struggle was over, trying to slow his rate of descent. He finally came to a halt with the dead beast nearly three-quarters of the way down the scree and simply sat there for a moment to catch his breath again, the rush of adrenaline still coursing through his bloodstream.

"H-holy shit... I can't believe that actually worked..."

He was scratched up and bruised from the scuffle but felt nothing; there had been no joy in killing the beast or any sense of victory in what he had just done. He reached across and sliced open the creature's throat; if it was going to give him refuge from the storm at the cost of its life, then he didn't want it to suffer any more than it had to. As he carefully got to his feet again, he realized that wanting to give the creature a quick death meant his humanity was still very much intact and well. He kicked the spotted creature and it rolled the rest of the way down the scree like a rag doll, the dead corpse plunging straight into the rushing river below.

"Ah, shit!" He hissed, suddenly regretting what he had just done, "I could have probably eaten that... o-oh well."

He was covered in clumps of mud and his clothes were spattered with blood thanks to the encounter, but a quick trip back through the rising river and fresh torrents of rain washed most of it off again.

In another moment, he was back at the hollow tree log and the little girl hatchling stared at him, deathly afraid. When he made another step forward, she squealed in protest. He was taken aback by the sound; she had responded so positively to his presence before and simply couldn't understand the sudden change of mind.

"What's wrong?" Rick grunted at her, quickly catching himself as he realized he sounded too angry. "We don't have time for this, feathers. We... we need to get out of here, don't you see how serious this is? The river is probably going to keep rising and this entire area will likely be underwater soon. Come on, what's wrong? I can't possibly be that scary."

The little girl shook her head. "You killed it... you killed a prowler. I watched you. It.. it didn't have to die."

"Oh, that? W-wait, you actually feel sorry for it?" Rick raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling awkward. "Well, uh... don't those things hunt your kind down? I mean, both Birdperson and your mom said that you're at risk of being eaten by predators like that." His eyes narrowed slightly, his tone becoming firm. "You're lucky it was me fighting it and not you."

"Yes, but... it didn't have to die. You could have... have shooed it away..." She seemed entirely uncertain of herself.

"Think about it this way, kiddo," Rick carefully reached in to pick up the feathery little girl again now that she wasn't trying to back away from him anymore, "it was either it or us. Because I killed it, only one thing has to die today. If we don't take its shelter, all three of us will be dead by nightfall. So if you have to make peace with ending a life, thank its spirit for keeping us safe. O-or... or some shit like that. I don't know, don't you worship clouds and stuff?"

The little girl stared at him, utterly confused. "No...?" She leaned against him in an effort to get warm again. As she hugged onto the strange human, she knew that they were both sopping wet and it would do absolutely nothing for her, but it still felt right somehow. "How... how much further is it?"

"Soon, kiddo, s-soon." Rick muttered as he crouched down to grab Morty out of the log, noting that he was really cold and barely moving. "Ah shit, keep it together, buddy... a-are you still with me?"

Morty's response was a single pathetic squeak of noise. He was still shivering, but he was starting to slow down and all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

With a renewed sense of urgency, Rick started back the way he had come, realizing that they were completely out of time. Although the river was still rising he waded through it, not making a peep of protest as he rushed back up the other side.

"C-come on, we're nearly there. It's fucking freezing out here..."

After precariously making his way back up the scree, which was a feat in itself while still carrying two children, Rick set both of them down and shoved them straight into the open mouth of the den. He attempted to cram himself inside after them, shoving them along none-too-gently as he went. His shoulders barely fit and it was a very uncomfortable squeeze up the entry chamber, but now that his mass was blocking most of the tunnel, there was barely any wind chill able to get past him. This was a good thing, though; it meant they had a fighting chance at survival.

The female hatchling made loud noises of protest; the lingering smell of predator was strong and almost overpowering. She made loud screeches in her panic and slammed her body back into Rick's shoulder, trying to force him out of the way.

"No, the other way, the other way!" Rick hissed, irritated with her irrational behavior. "G-get it together, feathers, t-there's nothing in here to be afraid of. I k-killed the previous owner, the largest predator in this hole is me..." He was still shivering and slowing down, but it wasn't affecting his judgment, at least, not yet.

"It smells like it is still here!" The feathered hatchling cried at him.

"N-no, it isn't!" Rick bared his teeth. He pulled a small flashlight from his lab-coat pocket that he often used to inspect things, and after turning it on, he forcefully thrust it into her small hands. "S-see for yourself..."

As Gresharak's hatchling shined the flashlight through the tunnels and chambers of the lair ahead of them, the beam of light gave Rick most of what he needed to know; the den tunnel became wider the further in it went. The deepest parts of the tunnel system looked old and well worn. There was no way that the predator could have dug all of this out by itself and further evidence was given by the fact that older sections of the lair had been scratched out of solid black granite.

"Take Morty along with you, and... a-and hurry the fuck up..." Rick instructed her as he continued down the tunnel, dragging his entire weight along as he crawled on his forearms. The scientist quickly discovered that the further back they ventured, the warmer the tunnel became – it was completely dry and the granite had retained latent heat from the day. Things only got better from there; a wide tall chamber sloped three feet upwards at the very back of the den and there was a high ledge heaped with something he couldn't identify just yet. He quickly concluded it must have been a nest or some kind of bedding, which was exactly what he had been hoping for.

Rick could only just barely twist himself around into an uncomfortable seated position once at the back wall of the den. He picked Morty up and forced him onto the ledge, shoving him backwards. He did the exact same thing with the little girl and leaned his back against the slope, sighing as he tried to relax. He knew for a fact that he couldn't fit up there along with them, but didn't care because they were much smaller and needed to warm up faster than he did. If they were safe and warm, that was all that mattered.

He had stopped shivering by now and knew that was a very bad sign; it meant that his mind was going to slow even further as hypothermia set in, but just being out of the rain again made him feel so much happier. He was thankful for being a scrawny little weed of a man; if he had been more muscular or fatter, he wouldn't have fit in the first place.

"Use the flashlight. What do you see up there?" Rick wanted to know for certain that they were going to be all right. "G-give me your best description..."

"Um..." The little girl went quiet and flicked the beam of light around. "Dried leaves? Dried mud. Lots of feathers. Lots of prowler fur... it is really warm up here."

"G-good," Rick mumbled, "that's... that's exactly w-what I wanted to hear." He knew what he wanted to say next, but still had some mild difficulty piecing the next set of words together. "L-listen to everything I tell y-you, OK? Strip everything off. Then... t-then do the same to Morty," he paused for a moment, adding, "i-if he protests, f-fight him if you have to... I doubt it though, he... h-he doesn't like wearing pants."

The little girl stared down at him. "You want us to get naked?"

Rick cringed a little; no matter how he thought about it, that statement sounded so wrong coming from a prepubescent little girl. "Y-you have a better chance of drying off and warming back up i-if you do that. D-do you understand?"

Rick waited for a response, but there was none. He saw Morty's wet garments land onto the ground beside him, and then a soggy diaper. Then the hatchling threw her own clothes off and added them to the wet pile beside him.

"Smart kid..." He mumbled aloud as he took off his sodden lab coat and shirt, refusing to do any more. Even though he was colder than he could ever remember, it was still somehow wrong and embarrassing to think about having no pants on and his private parts exposed for anyone to see. If he was going to die, he certainly didn't want to be found dead and naked inside a hole with two young children.

Rick lightly thumped his head back against the den wall, frowning at the fact that the gauze padding all over his back was soaking wet. It was incredibly uncomfortable and itchy, but at least it was something that his slowing, chilled mind could focus on. He felt incredibly sleepy, so he began trying to calculate equations in his head just to keep himself awake; going to sleep now was the last thing he could afford to do, both for his sake and the young children on top of the ledge. If they needed to move out of the hole in a hurry, Rick knew he would need to be awake in order to take charge of the situation. He also knew for a fact that if he allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness, he may risk never waking up again.

All the scientist could do now was wait; he had always been in control and was somebody who always had a plan. But he certainly didn't feel that way now, and he absolutely hated it.