NOT A NEW CHAPTER! I was personally asked by an anonymous fan to split chapter 5 up. They presented a sound argument that this chapter was much too long, and that the reader would lose a little interest reading through it. That it would be more suspenseful in two parts. I agreed :)

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it"

Albus Dumbledore

Breaking Point

The door swung open without a sound, and Rick stood in the doorway taking in the photographic view. The room was illuminated with a rich, orange glow; the sun finally deciding to make an appearance. Morty's starry lamp was still rotating, the light blue stars now a vague silhouette shining along the walls. Morty was impossibly tangled within his blankets and sheets, Rick wondered how much tossing and turning had occurred to wrap the boy so thoroughly.

The twist of blankets had hiked up Morty's pajama shirt, exposing his light back. One foot was covered, while the other was splayed out haphazardly. Morty was hugging his pillow to his head, his hair sticking out in all directions. With the brilliant colors, perfect balance of shadowing, and the picturesque pose Morty had unwittingly stuck; they could make it big in some magazine. A photographer's dream shot.

Well, time to ruin it. Rick strode over to the bed, only pausing briefly to contemplate the best way of untangling the boy from his cocoon. Why am I even thinking about this? Rick shrugged before grabbing Morty's exposed foot, and yanking him clean off of the mattress. Morty landed on the carpet in a mess of covers, he moaned and pulled some of the freed blankets over his head to block out the sun.

He didn't make any attempts at moving or even acknowledging Rick's presence. Morty knew Rick was there, but actively chose to ignore him for the first time. Morty should have known that his grandfather wasn't going to take kindly to being given the cold shoulder. Rick huffed and crossed his arms at the audacity that the boy had to ignore him, the man who had better things to do than play house.

"Morty, I, I've been nice these past few days, bu, but that doesn't mean that I will not hesitate to drag you on my missions if need be," Rick glared as the bundle shifted on the floor. Morty was becoming nervous - unsure of his actions. Good. "Now today we, we're goin' on an adventure, whether you want ta, to or not. And you have the weight of today's outcome is on your shoulders righhhhhhhhhhht now Morty." Morty pulled the covers back a bit, to look at his grandfather's formidable form.

"Ya, you can get up, get dresses on you own, - because I'm done helping ya – and come to breakfast, and after, we, we'll go on a super awesome quest." Morty whimpered. " Or you can lay here, till I, I'm forced to drag you out of this room. By. Your. Hair. And then I, I'm taking you with me without no breakfast. And I promise I'll make it as unpleasant for you as possible." Rick narrowed his eyes. "And trust me when I say, 'I have a lot of experience making people's lives unpleasant.'"

Morty sat up, visably shaken by Rick's words. He may not have understood all of what he was saying, but he got the gist of it. It was unnerving to hear Rick's tone when he had lain out the threats. The cold, calculated, factual representation had chilled Morty to the bone. The yelling and screaming was much better than the cruel actuality promised in those words.

Rick took a swig from his flask, before turning and leaving without a second thought. The door was pulled shut, lightly clicking into the frame. It was worse than if the door was slammed. Morty quickly got up to stiffly browse through his available clothes, while Rick was paralyzed on the other side of the door, his hand still glued to the doorknob.

It was better this way. The boy needed to remain utterly obedient and dependent. It would make things easier in the long run. Make him more willing to go on adventures with him, keep him from questioning what Rick did, or why he did the things he chose to do. At least that was what Rick kept telling himself. It masked the shame that was rekindled from threatening an abused child into compliance. He took a long drink from his flask.

Rick had set the bowls down on the dining room table. Both were filled with the watered down oatmeal, and topped with two slices of bacon. He was rapidly tiring of these bland meals. Rick didn't like normalcy, and this was what was becoming of his life. Routine; an endless, slightly differentiating, cycle. It was depressing to him. He liked spontaneous events and daring exploration!

Rick sighed and slumped over in his seat. He heard Morty enter the kitchen, and lifted his head when the footsteps stopped. Morty was standing in the archway to the dining room, shyly peeking in. "Dammit Morty, what are you wearing?" It sounded exasperated, though he didn't intend for it to be. Morty was wearing a light red t-shirt, decorated with a proud white outline of swirled wings in the center, a pair of blue jeans, and some boots. Specifically, light red boots, covered in white polka-dots. His messy hair stuck up in all directions, but was a little more tame than Rick's. His brown locks reached past his ears, and his bangs were brushing his eyebrows. The horrid haircut seemed to have evened out in the end; perfectly framing the child's face and giving him an endearing persona of innocence. In short, Morty looked like a girl.

Rick leaned back into the spine of his chair, his head tilting towards the ceiling. He motioned his grandson into the room with a lazy flick of the wrist. Morty moved to take his place at the table. "Should have thrown those boots out, they, they're irritating." Morty stared down at the red boots, kicking his feet under the table. Rick groaned. "I didn't think ya, you could've made yourself any more girly if ya tried Morty. At least ya, you got everything on right, matched up the colors and all that shit. At least you're competent enough to dress ya, yourself. Was getting worried there."

Morty had already picked the bacon out of his oatmeal, choosing to eat it first. What a surprise. Rick rolled his eyes and began to eat his own food. It was something Rick had noticed early on, Morty loved meat, of any kind really. He had deduced that Morty's cravings stemmed from eating pet food for an extended period of time. It was all Morty knew; the bold flavors of fruits, sugars, spices, and some strong vegetables, were too foreign for him.

Rick's grip tightened around his spoon as he watched Morty eat. The boy held his spoon in a fist, like a young child unused to silverware. He ate as silently and quickly as possible, careful not to miss a morsel. Rick was sure that Morty would eat until he made himself sick if his meals weren't so carefully portioned. The boy had been starved for so long, that his body didn't yet understand the signals for being full. The kid was a mess, and Rick tried to direct anger at Jerry for Morty's condition. He couldn't, all the rage had petered out into a pit of black sympathy.

Rick removed his flask from his coat to take a numbing swig. The kid's condition didn't matter to him, as long as he could be an effective shield. It was all Rick could tell himself to keep from falling apart. Falling into the abyss of emotions, of understanding.

The portal closed behind them, and Morty's mouth was hinged open in utter astonishment. He spun to see all this world had to offer him. A new realm of possibilities to distract him from an unforgiving past, and an uncertain future. This moment took his breath away, drowning out all the pain of yesterday, all the trepidation of tomorrow. Morty smiled.

Above him was a peach-colored sky, pinks blended with light yellowish clouds. A sun hung in harmony with two indescribably beautiful moons. Below him was short, blue-green grass, dotted with random wildflowers of enormous variety. This grass grew in long, endless strips stretching between equally endless puddles. The puddles were the size of lakes, so thin and clear, that they reflected the sky and planets and clouds all back at them like a giant mirror. The water was pink from the sky's reflection and as transparent as glass. Cleaner than anything Earth had to offer. Morty was glad that he wore rain boots.

Spanning across the horizon, Purple trees twisted from the ground. A few small, white, bird-like creatures were perched in the branches. Morty gaped at the world unfolding, breathing the cleanest air he had ever breathed. Wide-eyes he looked back to Rick. His face was as neutral as ever, staring down at him. The expression told Morty that he was thinking about something.

Rick broke eye contact and directed his gaze to the scenery. "Come on Morty. We gotta get going." And with that his grandpa walked on fearlessly, headlong into the unfamiliar world. It filled Morty with determination. If his grandpa wasn't scared, he could at least try to be as brave as him. If only for a little while.

Morty followed Rick, boots splashing in the puddles. A small bud of confidence and trust blooming in his chest. Rick was slowly becoming his everything.

Rick's eyes were scanning the fields of flowers, searching for the plant that would give his ship the power to levitate. He shuffled along, his hands buried in his pockets. He could hear Morty skipping after him, taking a route through the puddles instead of staying on the strip of dry land with him. He didn't worry much, the beasts on this planet were exceedingly rare, and he guessed that he'd be able to spot one effortlessly, considering the world was pretty low on hiding places. He could see the horizon in every direction, no foliage or mountains blocking his range of sight.

Rick couldn't help but smile to himself as he recalled the wonder plastered on Morty's face. The boy's eyes were full of it, the misery erased from his person. It made Rick's heart swell fondly, knowing that he was the one to cause it. Rick's smile suddenly fell back into a frown as unwanted emotions bubbled up in his chest.

He growled and reached into his coat pocket for his flask, only to find it missing. A memory floated across his mind; a memory of forgetting it at the kitchen table. Rick face-palmed. Damn it. A bit of frustration itched in his mind, only to be replaced with suspicion. He didn't hear Morty playing in the water anymore.

Dread consumed his being, like when he had heard Morty in the garage, or the glass in the warehouse. He spun on his heel, freezing in horror. Fear gripping his heart, tighter than ever before.

A large, purple beast with protruding fangs, standing a foot away from Morty. The boy was smiling, his arm outstretched to the creature's snout. Without a second thought, Rick shot forward. He didn't think about opening a portal to save himself, only about the dreadful monster's jaws maiming his grandson into unrecognizable gore.

Just as the beast opened it's maw, Rick's arms wrapped around Morty's torso, yanking him backwards into his chest. The creature's jaw snapped at empty air where Morty's arm had been. Rick backpedaled, spinning around and sprinting in the other direction. The beast gave an enraged roar, and Rick didn't dare look back.

Morty hugged his grandfather's neck as Rick shifted him to one hip. Thank God Morty was so light. His other arm was wildly feeling the inside of his lab coat for the portal gun, he gave a jerky breath as he felt the handle against his fingertips. He pulled the teleporter out and shot a green portal into the air. He heard the monster's thundering steps behind him as he jumped to safety, the vortex snapping shut in the nick of time.

They arrived on a desolate, rocky planet, the sky as black a coal. Rick dropped Morty to the ground, bending forwards to catch his breath. He'd never been so scared in his life. His lungs ached from short, erratic gasps, his heart hammering wildly in his chest. Morty sat quietly on the stony surface, his head tilted, eyes confused.

Rick calmed and anger replaced the terror. Morty stood up and flinched as Rick motioned to backhand him. He shut his eyes tightly as he felt the air part around his face, but the blow never landed. Morty opened his eyes warily. Rick had stopped himself, hand centimeters from his cheek. His grandfather was biting his lip, rage contorting his features, literally shaking with it. His hand pulled back and curled into a trembling fist. He took a few steps back and started screaming at the sky.

A long time passed, Rick eventually going hoarse from the yells. It took every fiber of his being to stop himself from breaking the boy's jaw. From destroying everything he had built over the past week. His voice cracked painfully as he rounded on Morty, "I can't believe how stupid you are." He closed his eyes. "I, I'm done. Ya, your going to an orphanage, and I'm going to get a new Morty from the Counsel. I, I'm done." Rick opened a portal to Birdperson's house and pushed Morty through.

Morty arrived at the cream colored dome, and Birdperson invited him in. It was silent between the two, and Birdperson was staring at him like he knew what was going on. Morty sat at the table, staring absentmindedly at the pictures framing Rick on the wall. They showed him younger, happier. It made Morty feel worse.

Morty's eyes stung with unshed tears, his gut burning with resentment. In Morty's young mind, Rick was the one who was wrong. The one who overreacted. Morty believed that all animals were good, that they wouldn't hurt him for no reason. Not like people. He believed that the monster wasn't going to bite him, that Rick was the one being stupid and unreasonable. Morty hadn't felt anger in years.

He knew what Rick said to him, he recognized every word. He called him dumb and said he was going to leave him. It hurt, but wasn't unexpected. After all, everyone he cared about left him in the end.

With a burning desire to prove himself, Morty confronted Birdperson. The man stared down at him, nodding. No words needed to be exchanged. They went to the workshop to together.

Rick arrived at Birdperson's nest hours later. His lab coat was scorched, his hair messier than usual. Holes were torn in his pant-legs, knees scraped to bloody patches. But he got the flowers, and that was all that mattered. He wearily made his way towards the dome, only to find the windows dark. He must be in his shed.

Rick ached all over, his joints creaking sorely. The Galactic Federation had immediately tracked him down after he dropped Morty through the portal. Well, at least he knew the boy's brainwaves masked his. But that didn't really matter now, he was gonna get rid of this Morty. Get a new one that wasn't as much of a dumb-ass.

Light poured through the open doors of the shed, penetrating the darkness of night. He trudged into the shed, finding his dearest friend watching Morty fiddle with a device on the wooden floor. Birdperson raised his head to lock eyes with Rick. "I told you he was smart," he looked back to Morty. Rick circled around to get a better view. What was going on?

Morty sat cross-legged on the floor with an advanced puzzle in his lap. Twisting and turning the gears, slowly solving the conundrum. Around him were several completed puzzles ranging in difficulty, all above the average human's comprehension. It was staggering, a nine-year old solving alien puzzles designed to stump advanced races. Rick was snapped out of disbelief by Birdperson's voice. "He has great potential, you just have to unlock it. Abandoning him will only cause you both great pain." He took a deep breath. "This child is the only other human whom matches your intellect. The only one who will ever understand,"

Rick knew the double meaning behind Birdperson's words. He didn't mean understanding in the sense of intelligence – he meant understanding the pain. Something broke deep down in Rick's mind. The demons ripping away all of his resolve. It hurt so much... unbearable agony skimming his consciousness. All the hurt he hid so well, coming to a head with lingering emotions. A few tears escaped his eyes, and Birdperson left the shop without another word.

Rick wiped his face. "Come, come on Morty," he pulled the boy to his feet, the puzzle still held tight within his hands. "We, we're goin home Morty." Rick opened a portal to Earth and left with his grandson in tow, all intentions of abandoning him washed away.

Birdperson witnessed their departure from the shadows. He hoped that this broken child could heal Rick, in a way that he couldn't.