Morty was shocked at who or what stood before him. Do stuffed animals count as whos or whats? He wasn't sure.
"Cherry!?" he gasped.
"I'm surprised you remember who I am" her voice was dripping with venom.
"O-Ofcourse I do, y-you were my best friend" he said. Cherry was his red cherry scented stuffed dog with a heart shaped nose. When his mom had gotten her for him for his fourth birthday he strictly remembers that she used to have a pouch with cherry flavored jelly beans. He has long since eaten those of course. He noticed that she was wearing a gold tiara with a red heart shaped gem in the middle, he couldn't help but wonder if that was the gem his grandpa had come here for.
"Best friends don't leave best friends at bus stations!" she shouted angrily.
"I-I'm sorry Cherry, I-I didn't mean to, it was an accident" Morty apologized.
"That's always the excuse isn't it, you careless children always leave your stuffies behind somewhere, one moment you're their best friend going everywhere with them, and before you know it you are at the bottom of a lost and found box!" she spat the last part.
"I-I'm so sorry, I-I wanted to come back for you I really did, but my parents wouldn't let me" he could not believe he was literally trying to explain himself to a long lost stuffed animal. "I-I don't recall you being able to talk before, how are you able to now?" Morty asked.
"Well after you left me behind, I was in a box for countless cold dark and lonely days, then one day a kindly old lady picked me up, fitted me with this nice tiara, and ever since then I've been sentient at first I went back to the bus stop and waited and waited, because I stupidly thought you would come back for me, once I realized you weren't coming back, I've waited for the day where I could make you pay for abandoning me, at first I thought how was I ever going to see you again, especially after I ended up in this new world, but lucky me you landed right on my doorstep" Cherry explained.
"So now I am going to leave you here to rot in this cell, just like you left me, and your grandpa won't be coming to save you, he's already been dealt with" Cherry smirked as she turned to leave.
"Cherry wait! I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry I hurt you, you're right I-I was a terrible friend" Morty was ashamed that he had hurt someone so badly even if it was a stuffed animal.
But she left without speaking another word. Surely Rick would be here to save him soon, because he wasn't fond of the idea of starving to death in this cell. His wrists were starting to hurt from being bound. He felt that he would die of boredom before hunger or dehydration claimed him. Some time later weariness started overtaking him, he'd give anything to be able to climb into his bed and go to sleep. He wondered how many days have passed if any, and if anyone back at home is wondering where he is. Just as his eyes began to droop he heard the cell being opened.
"Our madam has requested that you be moved" one of the bear guards said as he climbed up on him to reach his cuffs then he unlocked his cuffs. He fell to the ground with a yelp of surprise.
"Don't you dare try anything funny" the other guard pointed a gun at him. He shook his head, honestly he was too tired to try to escape. One was in front of him and one was behind him as they led him down a hallway, he passed more stuffed animals, some looked hostile, others looked frightened. The frightened ones had rips and tears and even missing extremities. Finally they came to a large wooden door. The stuffed bear in front of him pulled out an ornate key and unlocked the door. The room was mostly dark, only a lit fireplace cast dim light in the room. He could tell someone was sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace, their back was turned to them.
"Madam, we brought the besmircher to you" one of the stuffed bears said.
"Good" a raspy woman's voice said.
"That will be all Boris, Butch, you may go" she rasped. They bowed and left. Leaving him alone with this strange woman, she continued to stare intently at the dancing flames. It was really starting to creep him out and he wondered if he should break the silence. Then she put out the fire bathing the room in darkness. Morty was terrified that she was going to attack him or something. Then she clapped her hands and the lights came on. A rather tall old lady with long silver hair and a floral pattern dress stood before him. She just stood there giving him an icy glare for a moment.
"Hello Morty" she gave a twisted smile. How in the world did she know his name.
"Wondering how I know your name? Simple Cherry told me of the boy that had betrayed her" she rasped. "Please Morty, have a seat" she pointed to a frilly pink chair. He hesitated.
"I said sit!" she boomed. Gulping, he sat in one of the chairs. She sat in the chair across from him.
"I am Madam Lacey, owner of Madam Lacey's Toy Emporium, when I was a little girl, I grew up in an orphanage, all me and the other kids ever wanted was stuffed animals, cats, dogs, horses, you name it!" her voice rose excitedly.
"But" her voice took on a darker tone.
"We were not allowed to have them, so I made a promise that when I grew up I would make stuffed animals for children everywhere to enjoy, I would pour my heart and soul into making these stuffed toys, I loved seeing the children's glowing faces when they got one of my stuffed animals, imagine my horror when I would see my beautiful creations in lost and found boxes and even the dumpster! You ungrateful brats! I worked so hard to make those toys, I even remember the day your mother came in and bought the cherry scented stuffed dog with jelly bean pouch, she said it was for her son who was turning four, I told her that I hoped he loved it, and where do I find it!? Discarded in a lost and found box" she paused for dramatic effect.
"I was crushed! I was devastated! I worked so hard on the limited edition scented candy pouch toys, I realized that you brats were no longer worthy of my creations, so I closed Madam Lacey's Toy Emporium and found a new purpose, I found these gems that brought life to my creations, so I traveled around collecting the stuffed animals with my stamp on them and I brought them to safety, then I came upon this place, a peaceful utopia with no children to harm or abandon my precious stuffies, but then you and that old fool showed up and shattered our peaceful existence, now you must pay for what you've done to Cherry" she stood up.
"I-I'm sorry Madam Lacey, I appreciated Cherry, I-I really did! And I wanted to go back for her but my parents told me no and forced me to leave her behind, I- Morty got cut off as there was a large commotion coming from down the hall. Please be Rick please be Rick, he prayed. Then a stuffed horse burst into the room.
"Madam Lacey! Madam Lacey! Look what we have!" the horse said as some stuffed animals drug an unconscious wounded Rick in.
"Grandpa!" Morty gasped. There goes his hopes of being rescued, what would he do now? He was as good as dead.
"Gave us a run for our money he did, but we finally caught em Madam" a stuffed cow lifted his head proudly.
"Excellent, it appears that he is this boy's grandfather, we will simply kill him and make the boy watch, then we will lock him up to live with the fact that he got his grandpa killed" Madam Lacey smirked. Which caused all the stuffed animals to start cheering. "Take him to the arena" Madam Lacey ordered. And they drug his grandpa out.
"Butch! Boris!" she called for the two bear guards. They came running in. "Take our guest to the observer's lounge please" Madam Lacey said.
Morty was held at gunpoint and taken to a balcony with a long comfy looking couch. The balcony was overlooking an arena. They forced him down on the couch and stood sentry nearby. He was joined by Madam Lacey and Cherry. Then they drug his Grandpa while he struggled against them. They dropped him in the dirt. "Let me go you fuzzy bast-
"Ladies and gentle stuffs! We are gathered here to execute the grandfather of one of the besmirchers! May he wallow in grief and misery!" Madam Lacey suddenly called from beside him, he jumped as she startled him. Thunderous applause followed her words. He wondered how stuffed animals could clap so loud. There were even a few loud whistles heard. They bound Rick to a pole and some stuffed animals pulled out some whips. Morty gasped in horror at what they planned to do to his grandpa.
"I'm sorry Grandpa! T-this is all my fault!" he called out. As the first lash came Rick cried out in pain. Morty looked away as they whipped him. He glanced over at Cherry who was smiling. Maybe he could appeal to her and stop this.
"Cherry I-I did eventually go back to the bus stop, but you weren't there, I-I looked everywhere for you, I searched dumpsters, donation centers, I asked around, but I couldn't find you anywhere, all these years you think I had forgotten about you, but I missed you everyday and I've never stopped looking for you" Morty said.
"You have?" she looked surprised.
"Y-yes, now I finally found you, don't you want to come home with me? We can finally be best friends again and I-I promise I'll never lose you again, please Cherry, I missed you so much" Morty held out his hand. She teared up and ran into his arms, he hugged her tight and pulled the tiara off her head. She turned into a regular inanimate stuffed animal.
"Madam Lacey, t-thank you for Cherry, I really do appreciate her, I-I promise I'll be more careful" Morty said whilst giving her a kind smile. Her expression softened.
"Thank you Morty, it makes me happy to see someone appreciate my hard work" she smiled.
"P-please release my grandpa, we'll leave and never return I promise" Morty said. She nodded too overcome with emotion to speak. She snapped her fingers and the stuffed animals stopped whipping Rick and let him go.
"Grandpa!" Morty ran to hug his grandfather, happy the whole ordeal was over. But his grandpa pushed him away. His smile faded.
"Grandpa? What's wrong?" he asked.
"Let's just go Morty" he said coolly without looking at him. He pulled his portal gun from his coat pocket and shot a green portal, they walked through it and were back in the garage of his house. He was relieved to finally be rid of that lullaby and those crazy stuffed animals.
"That's it Morty, you may go" he said with his back turned to him.
"A-are you mad at me?" Morty swallowed guiltily. He hated it when people were mad at him.
"Of course I am! You nearly got me killed! That whole situation could have been avoided if you had just grown a pair of balls and helped me fight the stuffed animals! You were literally willing to let me die to satisfy your moral high road! Why do you have to be such a wuss all the time!" Rick rounded on him. He took a step back frightened by his grandfather's outburst. He recomposed himself before giving his gentle reply.
"I-I'm so sorry grandpa, please forgive me, look I-I got the gem you wanted" he showed him the red heart diamond. Rick snatched it from him. "Just go Morty, I don't even want to look at you right now" he pointed to the door.
"O-ok" feeling dejected he left his grandpa alone.
As he left the garage he saw the house was dark, everyone had gone to bed already. He checked the time, it was 12:00am. He sighed, feeling exhausted. This day had been mentally draining. He supposed it was his fault that this mission had turned sour, for once he couldn't blame his grandfather. As he climbed the stairs to go to his room. He realized that his parents were still awake. He could hear them arguing behind their closed door. That wasn't uncommon; his parents argued pretty much daily. They seemed to loathe each other, they thought that he and Summer didn't notice the tension, but it was thick enough to cut with a knife whenever they were together. He set Cherry next to his pillow and climbed in bed. Now that he was in bed his mind was racing and he found himself suddenly wide awake, it was strange considering mere moments before he was so tired he felt like he would drop.
He would often lie awake at night and think about his parents, he worried that his family was in trouble. Would his parents come in one day and say they are getting divorced? What would happen to him and Summer if that happened? It was no secret that Morty wanted to get married and have a family some day. But he feared that his marriage would be just like his mom and dad's. Would he and his wife argue daily? Make it obvious that they hated each other. No he decided, he could not fathom hating anyone let alone the woman he loved enough to marry. It would just be him and the woman he promised to love for the rest of their lives. He knew he obviously wasn't getting married anytime soon, but he couldn't help but think about it. He glanced at Cherry, there was a part of him that was afraid she would kill him in his sleep. Finally after letting his mind wander for awhile he fell asleep.
Morty felt like he didn't get nearly enough sleep as he got ready for school. His mom didn't make breakfast this morning so he had to eat some toaster waffles for breakfast. Maybe he'd try to do some baking this afternoon after school. Once again his dad drove him and his sister to school. She gave him the whole spiel about staying away from her. He kept dozing off in English class which got him scolded by the teacher. He managed to stay awake for the rest of the class. He really wished he could drink some coffee or something, he was so tired. He would make sure he got to bed early tonight. He was walking to his locker zoning out. When he bumped into someone.
"I-I'm sorry" he said as he looked up and saw who it was. It was Braxton, he was on the football team and he was always really mean to Morty. He glared at Morty.
"Watch where you're going basketball head! I know you're stupid, but are you blind too" Braxton smacked his books out of his hands. He bent down to pick them up. "Bump into me again and you'll need a dentist" he high fived his buddies before leaving.
Morty went to the lunch room and grabbed a tray of what he believed was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Since all grades shared the same lunch room he knew his sister was here somewhere, he spotted her sitting at a table talking with her friends. He knew she would kill him if he tried to sit with her. Teens were glaring at him warning him not to dare to sit at their table. He sighed he just wanted to sit down and eat his lunch, but everyone acted like he had a contagious disease. Finally a waving hand got his attention, he turned to see Abby beckoning him over. He walked over to the table she was sitting at.
"Hey Morty! You can sit here if you want" she said in her usual friendly tone. Gratefully he sat down.
"People are so snotty and rude, acting like they own the place, anyways, how have you been? You seem really tired" Abby asked.
"Yea, I didn't get much sleep last night" Morty said. Abby opened her lunch box and pulled out a container of what looked like chili. It smelled amazing.
"T-that looks and smells amazing, who made it?" Morty asked.
"Oh, my mother, well it was my grandma's recipe, you see I was born in Louisiana cooking is huge in the deep south, but we moved here when I was ten, for a job my dad got" Abby said.
"Y-your family must be really good cooks" Morty said.
"Yea! My mom actually owns a diner, maybe you could come by sometime and try my mom's cooking, I promise you won't be disappointed" Abby said.
"Sure, s-sounds good, so you say you used to live in Louisiana, what was that like?" Morty asked.
"It was beautiful, I lived in the country of a very small town known as Oakdale, it was so peaceful and everyone was so nice, you know that southern hospitality, my grandparents owned a pecan farm, so that's where I spent most of my life there, when we first moved here I talked with a thick country accent, I got teased for it so I dropped the southern drawl" she explained.
"D-do you ever miss it?" Morty asked.
"Sometimes, I'm mostly sad that I don't get to see my grandparents as often, but it's nice here too" she said as she went to eat her last bite of chili. She spilled it on her white dress. "Oh no! This will never come out, it's going to stain so bad" she started furiously rubbing the chili spot with a napkin.
"H-hold on, I'm pretty sure my sister has one of those Surf to go pens that help get stains out of clothes, I-I'll go borrow it from her" Morty got up and was walking towards his sister's table, she mouthed go away Morty. He was about to do just that, but he told Abby that he would get her this pen. So he approached her table. Her friends were giving him various looks of disgust. And he noticed that there was now some boy there.
"Um, do you mind? This is a private table" her friend scoffed at him.
"Go away Morty" Summer said through gritted teeth.
"I-I just need to borrow your Surf pen" Morty said.
"Wait, this loser is your brother!? Summer I thought you were cool, but if you are related to such a loser than perhaps you're a loser, I'm sorry but maybe we shouldn't hang out" the boy got up and left.
"Wait, Caleb…" Summer looked sad. Then she turned to look at Morty; the look on her face could only be described as murderous. She stood up and grabbed him by his shirt.
"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ME! NOW YOU JUST COST ME EVERYTHING! YOU ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING! OUR FAMILY WAS PERFECT BEFORE YOU CAME! I WISH MOM HAD ABORTED YOU! YOU RUIN EVERYONE'S LIVES!" she screamed in his face before letting go of his shirt. "Here's your stupid pen" she threw it at him before running away hysterically crying.
"Summer wait I-
The door slammed as she exited the lunch room. He considered going after her, but he knew that would only make her angrier. Best to leave her alone for now. He saw Abby standing there eyes wide mouth agape. Everyone was staring at him and he felt self conscious. He walked back over to Abby and gave her the pen.
"What in the world was that about?" Abby was still shocked.
"My sister hates me, so she gets really mad when I talk to her, Especially when she is with her friends" Morty said.
"Yeesh really? Makes me glad I don't have any siblings" she dabbed the tip of the pen on her stain until it released some of the detergent, then she scrubbed the stain. "Thanks Morty that really helped, I'm sorry you had to get yelled at for it" Abby said as she handed the pen back to him.
The rest of the school day was filled with him getting laughed at for the tongue lashing he got. Finally the day was over and he could go home. His sister ran upstairs and slammed her door. He went straight to the kitchen. It would be a couple more hours before his mom got home and cooked dinner. So he was going to make some dessert for everyone tonight. He decided on making a cinnamon crumb cake. Maybe if he made his sister's favorite cake she would forgive him.
He put his apron on and preheated the oven to three twenty five. That's always the first step. He was going to make the crumb topping first. He whisked together one and a half cups of flour, three fourths cup of dark brown sugar, three fourths cup of white sugar, one tablespoon of cinnamon, one teaspoon of salt, and one cup of melted unsalted butter, then he added another cup of flour slowly whisking it in until large clumps formed. He set it aside. Now to make the cake, he whisked three cups of flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, one teaspoon of baking soda, one teaspoon of salt, and one teaspoon of cinnamon as his dry ingredients.
Then in a separate bowl he mixed together one cup of softened unsalted butter, and one cup of white sugar, until they were nice and fluffy, then he added in two eggs, two thirds cup of sour cream, one third cup of milk, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, and one tablespoon of vanilla extract. Then he mixed in his dry ingredients. He poured the batter into a nine by nine inch cake pan. Then he added the crumb topping. He put it in the oven and set a timer for forty five minutes. He went upstairs and put his backpack up. He cast a wary glance over at Cherry, she was still in the same spot he put her in. He laughed at himself for how ridiculous he was being.
He removed the gem that gave her life, now she was just a regular old stuffed dog. She couldn't hurt him, or lock him in a dungeon anymore. It still was so weird to say out loud that he had been locked in a dungeon by a stuffed animal seeking revenge. He was going to go use the bathroom, as he was walking past his sister's room he heard her talking. He got closer to the door to listen.
"Sigh, no Tracy I don't think I'll have another chance with Caleb"
"Well thanks to my stupid brother, he thinks I'm a loser now and won't speak to me"
"I know! I've had a crush on him for sooooo long, and just when he finally noticed me and started talking to me, here comes freaking Morty to ruin it"
"I know girl! You are so lucky you don't have any siblings, I hate him so much, from the moment my mother brought him home from the hospital I have hated him, like even when I was a little girl, I would just hope he died and it would go back to being the three of us, he got really sick when he was a baby, he was hospitalized and I really really hoped he never came back, like I know how wrong that sounds but it's just how I feel, and I'm not the only one"
"My parents tell me all the time when he's not around, about how much they wished they had aborted him, he's retarted and pathetic, he goes on these weird adventures with our grandpa, and we relish the time he's gone, we even hope he never comes back"
Morty could no longer listen and he hurried away from the door. Surely his sister was wrong, his parents didn't really feel that way about him did they? He knew they didn't like the fact that he enjoyed baking, but was it that serious? Was it more than just an annoyance or a disapproval? Did they actually hate him for it? He had always heard that hate was a strong word. Did his own parents hate him? What would he do if his own parents hated him? He let out a shuddering sigh as he fought back tears. No, his sister was wrong. She was only saying these cruel things because she was angry with him.
He heard the timer beeping. He went down stairs and pulled his cake out of the oven, he lightly dusted the top of it with powdered sugar. Then he sliced it and left it to cool. He heard the tv and went to see who was watching tv. He saw his dad sitting there, he was going to join him, but he couldn't get what Summer said out of his head. If his dad really hated him then he wouldn't want Morty to watch tv with him. He pushed the thought away as he joined his dad on the couch.
"Judging by the cinnamony aroma, you've been baking, haven't you?" his dad turned to look at him, disapproval written all over his face.
"Um, Y-yea, Summer is really mad at me, a-and I wanted to make her favorite cake to apologize" Morty swallowed nervously. This conversation was already headed in a bad direction.
"Why is Summer mad at you?" his dad raised a brow.
"I-I asked her if I could borrow her Surf pen, w-whilst she was with her friends, and apparently there was this boy there, b-but he told her he didn't want to see her anymore because she was related to a loser like me" Morty said. His dad sat there in silence for a moment before erupting into laughter. "You're joking right?" his dad said in between bouts of laughter.
"Um, n-no" Morty was confused by his dad's reaction. Just then his mom came home. She cocked a brow at her husband hysterically laughing before shaking her head and continuing on to the kitchen.
Sometime later the family was sitting at the table. Plates of lasagna in front of them, once again everyone ate in awkward silence, his sister would occasionally shoot glares at him. He reached for a roll of bread. Summer quickly grabbed the roll he was about to take and flipped him off before angrily munching on it. He grabbed another roll and took a bite out of it. He noticed his sister was glaring daggers at him. She looked ready to jump across the table and strangle him. He stole a glance at his grandfather. He had the usual far off look, his mind was clearly elsewhere.
"I-I made dessert, cinnamon crumb cake, y-your favorite Summer" Morty broke the silence.
"Nobody wants your stupid dessert Morty!" Summer snapped.
"B-but I made it for you, I-I wanted to say that I-I'm sorry I embarrassed you" Morty said.
Summer's face grew red, she looked like she was going to explode. Morty gulped, he knew he was about to get it. Summer grabbed whatever was in arm's reach and threw it at him. First the lasagna which splattered sauce everywhere, thankfully it wasn't really hot anymore so it didn't burn him. Then she grabbed the plate with the rolls and threw them at him. The rolls flew everywhere. She looked around for something else to throw. He looked on in horror as she grabbed his cake and smashed it on the ground, stomping it a few times for good measure. Then she screamed at the top of her lungs before running to her room. His parents were absolutely stunned. Even his grandfather looked shocked. And nothing shocked that man. He teared up and also went to his room. He changed his shirt and crawled onto his bed. He didn't bother stopping the sobs that escaped. Why was he so bad at this? All he wanted to do was apologize for upsetting his sister and all he seemed to do was make it way worse. Any attempts to connect with his family blew up in his face. He cried himself to sleep.