Disclaimer: I don't own Rick and Morty. They belong to Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.
A/N: And heeere's chapter 2! I'm having a lot of fun writing this. I'm going to try and update this story at the very least once a week. I hope you enjoy; comments are greatly appreciated!
Chapter 2
Morty lay alone in his bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. The hot anger that had filled Morty had finally drained out of him; now, he only felt a heaviness in his heart. Everything had been ripped away from him so quickly and easily; he found it hard to comprehend exactly how simple it was for the Federation to just remove almost every trace of his grandfather out of his life.
Almost every trace.
Morty sat up suddenly as a remembrance occurred to him. The galaxy hologram.
He leaped off his bed, making his way over to his desk before he yanked open a drawer. The drawer was a complete mess; uncompleted homework assignments, notes, chip bags, and other random items littered it. Morty pushed aside the random debris as he rummaged through the drawer. Aha. His fingers grasped a cool, spherical structure. He pulled it out, bringing it up to eye level. It was a clear orb.
Morty reached over to the light switch and flicked it off. On one side of the sphere was a red button; Morty pushed it. Immediately, a hologram of the Milky Way galaxy filled his room. Stars, systems, and planets lit up his walls and ceiling, rotating in real time around the black hole in the center of the galaxy. Morty admired the hologram, taking in the beauty of the cosmos. He and Rick had been to many of these systems over the past two years; Morty could point each of them out. He noticed a little red dot, which signified Earth's location in the galaxy.
Rick had created and given Morty this hologram for his fifteenth birthday.
"Here, you little turd. Happy one-year-closer-to-death." His grandfather tossed the plain, unwrapped box to him.
Morty's clumsy hands missed it, sending the box crashing to the ground. "Oh, jeez." Morty said, picking it up apologetically.
Rick rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Ugh, Morty, y-y-you're going to break it." He took a sip out of his flask and turned back to his workbench to fiddle with some invention, pretending to pay little attention to his grandson as he opened the box.
Morty pulled out a clear sphere. "Whoa, Rick…w-wait…what is it?" Morty said, inspecting the gift with curiosity.
"Goddammit Morty, don't you know how to work a button? W-what is this, preschool? Use your eyes, ding-a-ling."
"Oh." Morty's fingers found the red button on the side, and pressed down. Immediately, a hologram of the galaxy filled the garage.
Morty looked around in amazement. "Whoa, Rick- this is incredible! You built this?" He asked, admiring the many systems in the holographic galaxy.
"No shit, Morty. What, did you think I was gonna go a-a-and buy one of these from some cheapskate Bloopynoof? No, I made it." Rick glanced upwards. "Oh, and that red dot- that's E-EUGH-arth. So there ya go."
Morty reminisced in the memory. Rick was an asshole, sure- but a part of Morty knew that his grandfather did care about him. At the very least, 1/64th of Rick cared. After all, Morty was aware of the fact that Rick had saved Morty by sacrificing himself during the time fracture, over a year ago.
The fifteen year old teenager sighed, his heart clenching. Rick sacrificed himself for us…again.
A sudden rapping on his door startled Morty. "C-come in!" He called to the knocker as he hurried to turn off the holographic galaxy.
Summer leaned her head in right before the hologram disappeared, seeing Morty sitting in the dark all alone. "Uh, well, this isn't creepy of you at all. Just Morty, sitting in the dark!" Summer said sarcastically before flicking on the light. She cocked an eyebrow at her brother.
Morty felt heat rising to his face, the spherical hologram in hand. "What do you want, Summer?"
His sister glanced down at the orb. "What's that?" She probed.
"Oh, uh…" Morty looked down, turning the orb in his hands. "I-I-It's just something that Rick gave me. I was just looking at it, you know, thinking."
Summer looked from the sphere back to Morty. A softer expression overcame her face. "Mom says dinner's ready." Summer tucked her head out of Morty's room, gently clicking his door closed.
Morty let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Besides Beth, Rick's absence was still the rawest and hardest for Morty.
"I can handle it if you go, but if you leave, you'll break Mom's heart, and I won't forgive you for that."
Morty looked down at the orb, those words still bitter in his mouth. For Morty, not only would he not forgive Rick for leaving his mother, but he wouldn't forgive Rick for leaving him, either.
!
The next few weeks passed by as uneventful as the next. The family found themselves in some sort of Groundhog Day-esque life; each morning, eat breakfast together like they were a normal, wholesome family, then go off to school or work and keep mentally busy, then come home and pretend to be ordinary before eating dinner and going to bed. Rinse, lather, repeat.
The weekends weren't exactly bliss for anyone, but at least they didn't have to be sitting in pointless classes for eight hours. On this particular Saturday morning, the family once again found themselves sitting together for breakfast, silently poking at the pancakes Beth had cooked.
Flying saucer-shaped, Morty bitterly thought.
"I picked up the paper and the mail," Jerry said cheerfully, coming in through the front door in his striped pajamas and slippers. He waved the mentioned papers in one hand as he closed the door behind him. He sat down at the head of the table, setting down the envelopes. "Now, let's see…" he began, rifling through. "Bill, bill, bill, bill…oh, here's the lamp catalogue! I've been wondering when they're were going to send out a new one…bill, bill…oh, here's one for you, Summer!"
Jerry tossed the envelope over to his daughter. Summer stared at it, terror plastered on her face.
"Summer? Are you okay, sweetie?" Beth questioned, looking at her daughter.
Summer didn't say anything, not acknowledging her mother. Instead, she just stared in fear at the envelope, as if it was going to jump up and bite her.
Morty had a feeling that he knew what the envelope was. He reached across the table and snatched it away from his sister. He read the front. It was addressed from the school district, with a large Federation stamp below the return address.
"C-can I open it?" Morty inquired to Summer. She nodded, almost imperceptibly.
Morty hesitated, looking between his sister and the envelope, before slipping his finger underneath the lip and tearing it open. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, and opened it up. He began reading out loud, his eyes moving slowly across the paper.
"Dear Summer Smith and family,
We would like to inform you and your familial relations that you have received the highest possible marks on the nationwide Space Travel, Spaceships, and other Planetary Systems Exam you had taken on Thursday, March 1 with a score of 900/900. Please accept our sincerest congratulations."
Summer exhaled, a smile spreading across her face. Beth grinned at her, patting her on the arm. Morty looked up. "Wait, there's more." He continued reading.
"However, we regret to inform you that, though a 630/900 was the minimum score required to be allowed interstellar travel, due to special circumstances, we at the Galactic Federation do not give you permission to travel off-world.
Have a lovely day. Yours truly,
The Education Department of the Galactic Federation."
Morty finished. He looked up from the paper at his sister, eyes wide in concern.
Summer clenched her jaw, her eyebrows kneaded in concentration, her eyes alight with an angry fire.
"Summer…" Beth began, but Summer cut her off abruptly.
"No, it's fine. It's fine," she grimaced through clenched teeth. "Whatever. It's like, whatever. I'll be up in my room." Summer stood up suddenly, color returning to her cheeks. Without a second glance at her family, she kicked her chair out from under her and marched up the stairs. A door slammed.
The remaining family members looked away from each other, an awkward silence falling between them. Morty felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He threw the paper down on the table, exhaling. "I...I should go up there." Morty pulled his chair out from under him and followed Summer up the stairs.
He approached her door, holding his knuckles up to it. He hesitated. Did he really want to bother his sister? He knew what she was like when she was angry.
He rapt on her door three times, pushing through his anxiety. Even though his sister was a pain in his ass, he did care about her. Morty knew that this news would be a huge blow for Summer.
"Go away, Morty!" Came Summer's tear-filled yet harsh voice.
"S-Summer…"
"I said go away!" Bang! Morty winced. A shoe had clearly just hit the other side of the door. Morty took a deep breath and turned the handle, opening the door. Summer was sitting on her pink bed, head in her hands. She turned around on hearing him enter. Her face was tear-stained.
"Morty you fucking idiot- I said leave me alone!"
Morty didn't say anything. Instead, he made his way over to Summer and sat down beside her, the bed sinking slightly under both their weight. Hesitating slightly, he put a hand over his sister's, hoping it was a comforting gesture.
Summer wiped her tears away with the back of her free hand. She stared out through the window. "Goddammit, Morty. You were right, a few weeks ago. They won't ever let us into space. Fuck the Federation!" She spat. "I hate this! It's not fucking fair!"
"I-I know, Summer…" Morty followed her gaze out the window, recognizing the two mounds of dirt that had been grown over by grass. "I mean, it's not like me or you have Rick's brains. The Federation can't possibly think that we would know how to build a spaceship, or something. I-I-I mean, we're his grandkids, but we aren't him."
Summer looked up suddenly, her eyes wide in realization. "The ship…the spaceship! Morty!" She said, shooting up, looking at him. "Morty, my pink spaceship! The Feds didn't take it, because they didn't know it was ours! I parked it across the street a while ago because Dad didn't want to get any water stains on it while he washed his car! Oh my God," She gasped.
Morty stood up. He knew exactly what his sister was thinking, and he didn't like it. "Summer…" he said apprehensively. "Y-y-y-you can't!"
"Oh hell yes I can," Summer stated, grabbing her duffle from underneath her bed. She walked throughout her room, stuffing clothes and other personal items into it. "And I'm going to. I'm going to get off-world." She grabbed her keys off of her vanity. "You coming or what?" Summer stared at her brother, an eyebrow cocked.
"Ugh, Summer- no, you can't leave!"
"Fine, whatever, you little turd." She turned to leave, opening her door. "Oh, but if you tell Mom and Dad where I'm at, I'll personally come kill you. And," she began, "I'll tell them about your stash of Victoria's Secret magazines." She grinned.
Morty let out a shrill shriek of anger, his cheeks burning. "Summer!" He stormed after his sister as she made her way down the stairs.
"Morty? Summer? Where are you two going?" Beth inquired, seeing her children rushing to get to the front door, a duffle bag slung over Summer's shoulder.
"Uhh..." Morty began, looking uncertainly at his sister.
Summer rolled her eyes. "We're going over to my friend's house. She's having trouble with some homework and she has a little brother who's friends with Morty, so, like, they're gonna hang out while I help my friend." Summer stated convincingly.
Morty knew his sister was a quality liar, but even this level of lying surprised him.
"Oh, well…okay. Have fun!" Beth waved at them as they left through the front door, giving their mother a hasty goodbye.
Summer marched across the street, Morty towing behind her. She pulled out her keys, beeping the pink spaceship.
"Summer, do you even know w-w-w-what'll happen if you get caught?!" Morty stammered. He could hardly believe what his sister was doing.
Summer rolled her eyes as she got into the driver's side. "Uh, yeah. But they won't catch me. Now are you coming or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?"
Morty groaned. He didn't want to leave Earth- well, actually, yes he did- but he didn't want to leave Earth this way. He didn't want to get in any trouble with the Federation. However, he found himself sitting in the passenger seat beside his sister, trying in vain to talk her out of it. "Summer, you can't do this!"
"Too bad Morty- I already am." Summer jammed the keys into the ignition, hearing the warp engine turn over and sputter to life. The ship rose a few feet off the ground, waiting to be directed. Summer put her hands on the steering wheel and narrowed her eyes, angry flames dancing in them. "Let's roll."
Morty let out a moan of indignation. "Oh, jeez."
!
Summer was surprisingly good at navigating a ship. "How do you think I got full marks on that exam?" Summer said to her brother, who had complimented her driving skills. "Grandpa Rick taught me, like, everything there is to know about space. Plus, that exam's questions were really lame. Like," she continued as they left Earth's atmosphere. Morty noticed two small Federation ships on the far side of the globe, but saw that they weren't meant for racing after off-world space ships. No, they were just outposts. "One of the questions asked for the equation for the speed of light, and another one asked for the type of engine that can make jumps to hyperspace. Ugh," Summer rolled her eyes. "And the questions were multiple choice. It wasn't even that hard." She said, bitter.
Morty didn't say anything as they ventured further away from their home planet. Instead, he looked out his window, enjoying the view of the vast stars around them. This was a view he was certain he would never get to have the privilege of experiencing ever again.
Summer put the ship into hyper-drive and traveled for a few thousand light years through the galaxy. Though the pink spaceship was not as fast as Rick's, it still got them farther in only a few hours. They blew past system after system, the stars seeming to race behind them as they moved. They traveled a bit further until they found themselves in front of a couple of Federation ships. Morty's intestines twisted in his stomach.
He pressed a couple buttons on the ship's dashboard. "Uh, ship? W-what system are we in right now?"
The ship responded with a monotone computer voice. "You are currently located in the Beta-78 System."
"H-hey, Summer?" Morty indicated to the two Federation ships. "You-"
"Yeah, Morty, I see them." Summer's grip tightened on the steering wheel, her knuckles whitening. Her jaw clenched.
The Federation ships clearly saw the pink spaceship; they flew forward, and began speaking into the intercom, whose signal was picked up on Summer and Morty's radio.
The radio frizzled. "Zzrrt. State your name, planetary number, and reason for presence at this location. Zzrrt."
"Uhh…" Summer said, looking at Morty, panick rising in both of them.
"No time! GO!" Morty said, reaching over and slamming forward on the steering wheel. The ship lurched backward before zooming forward past the Federation ships.
"Hey!" The Federation ships flew after the pink spaceship, chasing them down. "Red alert!" ordered one of the Gromflomites. They began firing their lasers at the siblings. "C'mon, get a picture of the assailants!" Using a special lens on the side of the ship, the Federation goons managed to snap a picture of Summer and Morty screaming in the pink spaceship.
"Aaaahhh!" Screamed Morty and Summer together. Summer swerved up and down, back and forth, trying to avoid the lasers. Morty's heart beat fast in his chest as he screamed.
BAM! The ship jutted forward, a high pitched sound emitting from the engine.
"Dammit! We've been hit!" yelled Summer. "We're going down!"
Below them, pulling them into its gravitational field, was a small red and yellow planet that was, all too quickly, getting closer and closer.
They screamed for their lives, as they fell down, down, down, closer and closer to the planet.
CRASH!
Everything was suddenly dark.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading chapter 2! Things are starting to cook up a bit. In other news, did you guys hear that the season 2 DVD release date will be announced soon? Also, season 3 will be here by the end of this year, according to Dan Harmon! Woohoo!
As always, comments are greatly appreciated. Stay schwifty!