Disclaimer: I don't own "Rick and Morty".

Author's Note: You might benefit from rewatching "Rick Potion # 9" before reading this chapter. Also, recall the scene in "Rixty Minutes" when Morty spoke with Summer about switching dimensions? That conversation will become more significant as the story goes on….PS: The "Bear with me" comment should be noted as a mistake. Silly me, I forgot that Winston was a pink elephant...not a pink teddy bear. That's what happens when I write when I've got a bad case of insomnia.

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***Back on Planet Earth***

"UGH-are you kidding me, Morty!?" The world was spinning on its axis, threatening dangerously to tilt, leaving him stranded in a wasteland of his own demise. "You trying to take out my fucking eye or something you, you pathetic pissant excuse of a lunatic!?" Rick howled in unconceivable pain, doubled over in the Smith family garage as he held his stinging face. That was definitely going to leave a shiner; the kid packed quite a punch. (If it had been anybody else, Rick would have been impressed-but, right now, all he could think about was the pain-as well as the unexpected bitter sting of betrayal.)

Morty stood facing the opposite direction, his back turned to him, completely silent. Oh great, Rick thought with disgust. So this was Morty's idea of punishment? "Really Morty? 'The Silent Treatment'?" Rick snorted and shook his head with disgust as he rummaged around in the freezer, sifting through countless beer bottles in search of an ice pack for some much desperately needed relief. "Boy, looks like you got more of your dad's genes than I thought-" He paused as a shuddering gasp from Morty froze him in his place; the kid was shaking and sniffling. Shit-he'd mentioned Jerry-and the kid was clearly still a mess over his parents. Figures, he'd say the wrong thing at just the wrong time….

"Look, Morty-Iiiit was out of my control, okay? If it weren't for those a-holes at Blips and Chitz-" Again, he halted in his tracks-Shit!-In all the chaos, he'd left the ship behind back in the parking lot there. He'd have to go back and retrieve it. "Look Morty," Rick tried again with a placating shrug, "I, I know I'm an evil bastard...I get it. I'm a lousy pathetic excuse of a grandparent." He paused, searching desperately for what he thought might be the appropriate words at such a moment. "Listen-I-I need your help, OK?" he lied, inching closer and closer to his grandson and the portal gun. "Just, just come with me, I gotta get my ship at Blips...and we'll go and have some fun! All on me, OK? 'Let bygones be bygones' and all that jazz...Ya dig?"

He forced himself to remain patient as Morty sniffled a bit before turning around to face him. "F-f-f-forget it, Rick." The kid's eyes had never looked so sad; nor had he ever seen Morty look so exhausted. The kid looked like he had aged a hundred years overnight. "Y-y-y-you go it alone, okay? I'm tired. I've had it with your s-s-s-s-stupid adventures." With that, Morty slapped the portal gun into Rick's hand, before turning to go.

Rick stared down at the portal gun in his hand, and he blinked with an unexpected and unfamiliar wave of confusion: was Morty actually...giving up on him…? Was he going to have to go it alone, like he had for so many years ago…? Would he lose his one and only human shield, that had begun to feel so natural...like they had done been traveling together for years? He couldn't let that happen. Rick turned towards the garage exit and Morty's retreating back, feeling an unfamiliar sense of panic begin to grip his insides. "Mmmorty! Don't!" He shouted, and began to run towards his grandson. He was about to grab Morty's arm to stop him-when a sudden weight made impact with his back, slamming Rick down to the floor in an instant-

-and he was pinned against the floor under whatever had fallen on top of him-

-and whatever it was, was moving-it was-

-alive….

"SUMMER!?" Morty exclaimed, halting in the doorway and staring with a mixture of confusion, horror and amazement.

There, on top of his grandfather, lying in a heap on the floor, was his sister: her eyes wide with shock and staring back at him with horror. There was a dazed expression on her face….

….looking like she had never seen him before…

….looking like she had seen….

...a ghost.

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"SUMMER!" Morty shouted as he ran towards his sister, blinking at her with even further confusion. "Wh-wh-what are you doing here?"

Summer, panting, looked around in a daze, eyes wild with confusion. "Where...am...I…?"

"SUMMPHER...Get-UMPFH-the hell OFF ME!" Rick finally managed to shove his granddaughter off of him. Summer toppled into a further twisted heap of her own making, remaining glued to the floor.

As soon as she saw Morty, however, Summer gasped and, suddenly finding her strength, scrambled at once to her feet. "Oh-oh my God-MORTY!?" She ran towards her brother, halting in front of him, seemingly out of breath, as though she'd ran a million miles.

The look on her face confused Morty even more; it was as though she were looking at a stranger….and…..was that a scar on her face, running from her forehead almost down her eye? "What-what hapened to your face! A-a-a-are you hurt? What happened to you? What-where did you-?" He stopped, as it had suddenly dawned on him that maybe she had followed them, and gotten hurt-and it was all because of him, it was all his fault….Gasping in shock, Morty rushed at his sister and threw his arms around her. "I-I didn't mean to scare you-I'm sorry I didn't leave a note-I was just going to get Rick-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Summer-"

"Wait-Oh my Gosh, just wait a second-oh God, Morty-it's really-it's really you!" Summer pushed her brother away, but only to hold him at arms' length, and her eyes mirrored his own, reflecting his tears as they spilled over her face. "I-I thought I must be dreaming-but-is this really happening!? Am-am I really seeing you? And oh my Gosh-Grandpa Rick?! We-we thought you guys might-might be-" Before Morty could respond, Summer broke down in sobs, hugging her brother tight, so tight he could barely breath.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean?" Morty gasped as she held him, "I-of course it's me-who else would I be-"

"We-we all thought we had lost you, Morty!" Summer sobbed as she sank to the floor again, Morty kneeling down with her, his head reeling as she spoke. "When…" Summer continued haltingly, "when everything fell apart….and everyone turned into, into those horrible monsters….all my friends….everyone I knew, I-" Summer paused and gulped back sobs as she forced herself to continue, "It...it was just so scary and awful, and….and I-I tried to forget about you-I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"

"Oh….shit…." Rick, watching the whole scene from behind, cringed as it began to become painfully clear what had happened. This was the last thing he needed.

"Wha...what's she talking about, Rick?" Morty looked around wildly, his face in a daze, having forgotten all about his rage before, turning to Rick in a panic. "Did...did Summer hit her head or something? Why does she have that terrible scar? Why's she talking like this? What's happening to her?"

"This...isn't our Summer," Rick explained flatly, averting his eyes from the both of them, and trying hard to ignore the nausea in the pit of his stomach. "This...is the Summer that we both left behind."