The ship hovered silently above the dead-blue atmosphere of the distant planet. Mountains curved like claws around the horizon, and at the center of it all, like a tumor grown from cosmic madness, stood the Orb. A structure the size of a city. And it was covered with Mortys. Thousands of them. Their faces twisted in pain, their voices muffled by energy restraints. The orb pulsed with energy harvested from their torment. Machines latched onto their bodies like parasites, tubes siphoning something more vital than blood, hope.
Rick stood by the viewport, jaw clenched. "Motherf—"
He didn't even finish. Richard just stared, his breath shallow. He had seen this episode. He knew this place. But knowing wasn't the same as being there. The grotesque details were worse in person. The screams weren't background noise. The smell wasn't fiction. It was real. He swallowed down bile and took a deep breath. "Focus," he muttered.
Rick scoffed beside him. "What a damn waste. Could've done all this with one Morty if you knew what you were doing."
The AI, Jack, gave Rick the world's most judgmental side-eye. Rick caught it. "In theory! In theory, okay? I'm not a sociopath. Well, not that kind."
Richard activated stealth mode. His body shimmered and vanished from visual detection. "Let's not take chances. Stay quiet."
The ship landed softly behind a ridge. Richard slipped out like a ghost. He hadn't taken more than ten steps before something clicked behind him. Figures in cloaks surrounded him, guards, half Rick, half machine. Guns rose. Red dots lit up his chest. Behind him, Rick raised his hands. "Well, guess we're skipping the welcome drinks."
They were split immediately. Richard was herded into a prison pod crammed with gaunt, shivering Mortys. Rick, on the other hand, was dragged to a sterile, white chamber alone.
{Rick's Chamber}
Rick struggled against the restraints holding him to the hovering bed. Lasers moved with surgical precision, dancing inches from his neck and wrists. A figure approached from the shadows, the smooth hum of machinery surrounding him. Another Rick. But not just any Rick. This was the Evil Rick, the cause of all this menace, with dark eyes under his eyes.
"You know," said Evil Rick, "we're not so different, you and I."
Rick groaned. "Oh god. Really? You're doing this speech? The 'we're two sides of the same coin' thing?"
"You ran from your potential. I embraced mine."
"I ran from taxes. You tortured children."
"Perspective."
Rick rolled his eyes. "Buddy, if your evil origin includes monologuing, it's no wonder you are going to lose."
Evil Rick sneered. "Lose? I already won."
Click. Rick's finger tapped a button on the side of his belt.
{FLASHBACK}
Richard held out the utility belt days ago. "In case something goes sideways," he said, calm and cool. Rick snorted. "Please, I eat sideways for breakfast."
"It's a failsafe."
Rick waved him off. "Too careful. Life needs a little spice. If I wanted seatbelts, I'd ride a minivan."
{PRESENT}
A blinking light on the belt turned green. Rick looked Evil Rick dead in the eye. "Told ya. Belt spice."
BOOM.
The explosion was deafening. Light swallowed the chamber. The scream of metal and meat torn apart echoed through the orb.
{Richard's Cell}
Mortys screamed and scattered as smoke poured through the vents. Richard didn't flinch. He clicked a button on his belt. The buckle twisted, hissed, and slid out into a humming lightsaber violet, crackling with raw energy.
He sliced the door in half, and panic broke loose. Mortys ran in all directions like wild animals tasting freedom for the first time. He let them go. No time for herding. He stormed the halls, doors breaking open like paper before him. Step by step, he carved a path to the command center. And there, among the wreckage, A Morty stood from the ruins of the explosion. Shaking and coughing, looking as Innocent as a hamster.
"Wha...what happened?" Morty asked weakly.
Richard didn't move. "Drop the act."
Evil Morty blinked. "W-What act?"
"A little bird told me all I need to know, Morty, I know who you are."
Evil Morty paused. Then turned. A single black crow sat behind him on a busted console. It cawed once. Then flew away. Evil Morty's expression changed like a switch was flipped. "I must admit, you're smarter than the Ricks."
He pulled a blaster from under the console and fired. Richard blocked it with a spin of his saber. Before he could move again—BAM—a foot smashed into Evil Morty's side. Rick stood beside him, grinning.
"You blew up," Morty said, eyeing him from his place on the ground.
"Yeah, turns out the belt didn't. Belt blew me up, broke me into atoms, and then recrafted me into original Rick-form. Thank you for the design, dickhead."
Evil Morty stumbled back, gasping. "I... I was going to create a world where Mortys weren't weak..."
Richard stepped forward, eyes narrowed. 'This wasn't his goal in the series, maybe it was, but then changed when he went to the citadel,' he thought, but put them to the side as he said, "No. You were creating a world where you were the god."
The saber pierced through Evil Morty's chest. He gasped, one hand reaching upward. "I-am." His mouth moved again. But no one understood. And then, silence.
{Council Hall}
The Council of Ricks stood in a formal row, heads slightly bowed. "We apologize for the false accusations," said Monocle Rick, his voice stiff.
Rick shrugged. "Whatever. Keep your apology. But if I find another Morty orb... I'm burning your whole council to the ground."
Richard didn't say anything as he was already getting glares from all the ricks there who were in bandages and had broken bones in more places than one. There was a morty in a corner of the room. He looked at Rick and Richard with a calculating gaze as he then went back to being innocent and stupid.