Chapter Text
Morty finds himself floating in a pocket dimension, surrounded by a million types of rockets all pointed in his direction. Yet the only feeling he could muster is the amount of annoyance growing each second during this fight.
His shield tanks each hit, but he knows after the last rocket it will be of no more use.
It’s fine. Ricks always underestimated Mortys, he’ll find a way to kill the old man.
Finding that there was more rockets to be expected, he grabs his golden portal gun and shoots. The teen quickly finds his way out of the pocket dimension, watching as his plasma shield flickers from a blue, to a red, and then poof— gone.
Morty raises his head to see his other self and that stupid old man limping off, trying to hold up one another.
“I really do hate you guys.” Morty glares, watching the sickening display. It’s still strange every time a Rick shows affection for a Morty.
“No you don’t.” The other Morty— Prime Morty scoffs, allowing Rick to lean on his shoulder while he uses his torso as an anchor. “That’s the real reason you need to kill us right now because for Rick, making me jealous was an act… but for you?”
Morty purses his lips, muscle tensing.
His body screams at him to run. He does.
“Yeah, run bitch!” He hears his counterpart say as he slams the door shut.
How can he be so fucking stupid?
The next moments were a blur. As soon as he stepped inside the house, he finds his family jumping him immediately. While he doesn’t care about them, they’re still his family. Their relationship enough is what holds his modifications to do some real damage, save for the laser beam shot at Jerry.
It’s Jerry.
Sooner or later, he finds Rick and Morty tagging along with his beating. The teen squints his eyes, watching as countless legs stomp on his bruised body.
Idiotic, stupid, brainwashed—
Morty clicks a button, stopping the time around them.
“You like that?” Morty rises from the ground, voice almost petulant as he narrows his eyes at Rick. “That little time device you showed me? I made one too. Just like the portal gun.”
Then, the teen turns around to look at his frozen family members. “It always struck me as odd that Ricks don’t do time travel. I get that it’s messy, but so are you.”
“Anyways,” he charges up his Akira laser hand, pointing it square on Rick’s head. “Good thing I’m not a Rick.”
Cop sirens snap him out of his focus. A voice screams from outside, but he doesn’t need to know what he’s saying when he already finds himself cornered. He gets the message already.
Time cops surrounded him, leaving no exit behind. Morty peers out the window, seeing more time cops pull up with their guns already aimed at the house.
He slowly raises his hands up in surrender. If anything, he was more done fighting a battle that had no clear sight of winning. At best, it ends at a stalemate.
A few moments later, he’s cuffed and being brought to a grotesque, flesh looking car. The flesh is soft against his shoes, but the more he analyzes the testicle looking time cops, he starts thinking that this really wasn’t just regular flesh.
Rick walks up to him after Morty was done boasting to him, the feeling of the slap still stinging in his cheek.
“Mortys right, you do have a crush.” The old man smirks, loud enough that Prime Morty could hear it. That prick.
“You needed the cops to win.” Morty points out.
“Ughhh, score board.” Rick stretched. “Sorry. Morty made it weird.”
Morty turns his head back, glaring once again. “We were never a thing.”
“And you never will be as long as I’m alive.” The old man says triumphantly, throwing a wink.
“Why do you think I was trying to kill you?” He raises an eyebrow. Rick splutters, not expecting he’d actually reveal the secondary agenda he had while chasing the two— technically one. “Whatever, I’ll find other ways.”
Rick crosses his arms, unibrow furrowed as he frowns. Morty ignored the look, turning around and hearing the door shut wetly.
That Morty is so stupid. He’s been known since day one, but really? A crush on his fucking grandpa?
Morty lays his head on the seat, feeling exhaustion overwrite his limbs.
His dumb, never ending loyalty, those stupid puppy eyes of his, that annoying whiny voice, his care, compassion, love—
Why did Rick get all of it? He doesn’t deserve any of it. He should be getting all of it instead.
Morty will make sure to treat him right. He’ll give that same loyalty. He’ll spoil him all he wants. He’ll love him all he wants.
The teen slams his fist on the cushioned seats, letting out an irritated grunt.
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It was an actually pretty normal day. Morty went to school and surprisingly, Rick hadn’t pulled him out of there nor has he dragged him to some sci-fi adventure ever since he came back home.
He gets his answer when he walks into the garage, seeing Rick completely enamored in whatever he was tinkering with on his work bench.
“Soooo…” Morty drags on, eyes curiously looking at the sparks fly from the welder. He shifts his weight on his feet, thumbs twirling around eachother. “Whatcha making?”
Rick sighs, seemingly annoyed that he has to respond to his grandson but does it anyways. The old man takes off his protective goggles like it was a hassle to, slumping in his chair as he gestures to the device with his welder.
“I-It’s an Anti-Evil Morty thing. Technically.” He pauses, opening his mouth to say something only to shake his head to say another thing. “Urrrp- Don’t worry about it. Go jerk off or something, I don’t fuckin’ know.”
Rick waves him off, going back to his tinkering.
Ooookay?
Well now he knows he’s hiding something.
“Rick, do you really like Evil Morty more than me? I-I won’t be mad!” Morty lied. He definitely will have a tantrum. It was either that or being butthurt.
“Jesus Christ,” Rick drags a hand over his face. “For the billionth time, no! Stop-urrrp- bothering me and watch inter-dimensional cable! Get the fuck out!”
“Geez, okay, damn.” Morty winces, wiping off the alcohol infested spit landing on his skin. He shuts the door, correction, slams it for pettiness. The teen can hear Rick screaming curses at him from below as he walked up the stairs, but he doesn’t find it in himself to care.
Rick is such a liar. Morty can see it through his fucking teeth. If he didn’t care about Evil Morty more, then he wouldn’t stay cooped up in the garage spending all his time and energy building things for said person.
Morty curls up on his bed, bringing the blanket closer to his face.
This has been going on for so many days already. It feels like Rick is always in the garage now, trying to find something to do- anything to beat his “arch nemesis.”
But isn’t he already in jail?
The two must’ve been planning something during their little chat when Evil Morty was in cuffs. Maybe Rick was inventing something that can break his evil alternate out of prison so they can go on more of their… Rick and Evil Morty adventures.
Morty pouts, stuffing his face into his sheets.
His mood worsens when Rick doesn’t join in for dinner.
“Aww, I made Dad’s favorite too.” Beth puts a plate of dinner on the side. “Morty, go give your grandpa this.”
“I don’t want to.” Morty casts his eyes down, pushing the food around on his plate with his fork.
His mom gives a questioning stare but doesn’t push any further, delivering the food herself. Across the table, he can see Summer giving him a similar look along with a, ‘spill the drama.’ He just stared blankly until his sister gave up, then continued to play with his food.
Morty wasn’t going to sulk all week. Just… just for today.
He mopes in his bed, sitting up in a fetal position. His head rests on his knees, tucked tight into his chest. The more he kept zoning out, the more he feels his eyes stinging. From internal pain or not blinking, he has no clue.
Geez, it feels just back then when Rick left him for two fucking crows. And then for Gotron. Plus all the other times when he gets crazy hyper-fixations over the randomest things ever.
The teen runs a hand through his hair, scratching it to ease the overwhelming mix of emotions building in his tiny fourteen year old body. He claps his cheeks once to find his hands coming back wet.
Great. Now he’s crying.
Morty holds back his sob, rubbing furiously at his cheeks with his blankets. It helps, leaving damp streams but it doesn’t help when more tears run down. He lets out a frustrated huff as he put his whole head underneath the blanket, letting it drape over his body.
It felt… nice. Comforting.
The blanket slightly muffles the noises of Summer talking on the phone or his dad and mom’s weird foreplay. It blocks his vision, confining it to only view his body and the inside of the fluffy blanket itself.
If he focused on that, he could even tune out Rick’s machinery rumbling through the floors and walls.
With no doubt, Morty is still crying his eyes out but he feels more calm now. Like a weight was lifted off his shoulders after letting out some much needed tears.
It stops feeling nice when liquid snot dripped right on his shirt.
He drearily blinks the tears out of his vision, nose sniffling as he removes the blanket to grab tissues—
An eye. A brown eye was staring right at his own. If he connected it to his peripherals, he can see an eyepatch, brown hair, same nose, same face…
Morty’s eyes widen, mouth opening to scream only for it to be pressed shut by a hand similar to his own, but still so different.
Evil Morty uses his free hand to put a finger to his lips, flashing on a cruel smile. “Do you see it now? How easy it is for a Rick to replace a Morty?”
Morty doesn’t want to deal with any of this. He doesn’t want to be near Rick, not anyone in the family, not Jessica, and definitely not this asshole. So he proceeds to yank the hand off (which was surprisingly easy to) his mouth and laid down quickly, turning his back on the other teen.
It’s silent for a bit before Evil Morty speaks again.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I know you don’t care and still love your grandpa, whatever.” Evil Morty says nonchalantly, grumbling the last part before his tone turns a little softer. “Cmon, tell me how your day was.”
“Go away.” Morty pulls the blankets tighter to his body, tears still tracking down his cheeks. He knows it’ll be useless to try and fight.
“I know, hurts doesn’t it? It’s going to be allllll okay.” Evil Morty practically drawls, petting his side over the blanket.
“You’re such a piece of shit you know that?” He sniffles, rubbing his nose. It’s just one thing after another.
“Not as much as your grandpa, but I can see— oof.” Morty throws his pillow at his face, turning around to the wall again. He ignores him, trying to think of anything else to stop his waterworks that shouldn’t be shown in front of the one person he can’t be crying in front of, but was interrupted by another body climbing inside the blanket with him.
The teen jumps back as far as he can, back pressed against the wall as he stared at his copy fluffing up the pillow Morty had thrown at him prior. Morty squints, trying to assess the intruder.
Why is he being weirdly… nonviolent right now? If Morty remembered it correctly, their last meeting involved Evil Morty telling him how worthless he was (an overreaction dare he says), well, fair for have receiving a deserved slap. And… and that means the two should not be in good terms.
Yet here the devil was, trying to be snuggle buddies to the person he purposefully “homewrecked.”
It sucks that the only person who can relate to him is an evil person of himself… or at least he’s the only person willing to connect-ish? He doesn’t know what this guys intentions are.
“Shouldn’t you be like…” Morty utters, flinching at the intense gaze of the other. “Anti…E-Evil Mortified? Or something?”
Evil Morty blinks, eyes slightly widening before going back to its usual half-lidded state. An amused smile climbs his face, but a flicker of an unintelligible emotion crossed as quick as it went by. “I guess I should be, but it seems like your dunce of a grandpa needs a littlee bit more time.”
All Morty could let out was a small “huh,” realizing how unpredictable this situation was.
“Look, come here Morty.” Evil Morty beckons the other, lifting his arm to raise the blanket, revealing the spot Morty abandoned in earlier. When the teen doesn’t make a move to come closer, Evil Morty spoke again, more impatient but not overly demanding. “I’m just gonna show you stuff outside the curve, I’m not gonna bite.”
Morty looks at the spot hesitantly, and then at Evil Morty who simply watches as his counterpart used his last brain cell to think. In the end, Morty succumbs to the pressure and lays next to him, pretending he didn’t hear a muttered, “maybe.” He makes sure to leave a gap in between them.
Evil Morty shrugs, laying on his back and putting his cell phone between them. It’s uncomfortable looking at a phone horizontally, but he doesn’t find himself to care when the photo app opened.
The first photo Evil Morty showed was of the void of the multiverse. Similar to the one inside the Central Finite Curve, it was infinite and empty. The big difference was the amount of stars in the sky and how colorful it looked. Pink, purples, yellows, and blues swirled into one. The stars itself seemed to shine brighter, looking like a greater astral being than the regular ones.
“This view is about a couple planets away from my house. It was one of the first places I saw when I escaped.” Evil Morty smiled gently. Like this, features and body relaxed, he really… looks like a kid.
It makes him wonder what his Rick did.
“This one,” he swipes to the next photo, “Is when I had to fight some Helkariens for this ore.”
The photo is on a planet with green terrain and a red sky, planets and moons littering its atmosphere. In the frame itself, it contained the blue ore that was leaking green ooze from the multiple spikes sticking out of it. Some intergalactic beings— probably the “Helkariens”— were there, either being pierced by the ore itself or dead on the ground. Morty can only assume Evil Morty killed them.
“W-What does the ore do?” Morty asks quietly, unconfident in himself to make small talk with his evil self.
“It’s a charger. I use it to power my mansion and ships, but you need to mine it a certain way to not get hit by the spikes and it’s poison.” Evil Morty fingers drum on the edge of his phone as he swiped to another.
Morty doesn’t know how many hours passed, but all he knew was completely enamored by the multiverse. It was… so chaotic. From other dimension hoppers coming and going creating universal traffic, to the galactic beings inhabiting stranger planets, and don’t forget the cuisine from other dimensions!
It leaves an ache in his heart.
Of course Morty loves Rick, that’s his grandpa. But sometimes, he wishes he could be free enough to explore on his own. He knows about his heavy dependence on Rick, and while he doesn’t mind it, he knows it’s unhealthy for his deteriorating mental state.
He’s still growing boy, so it’s scary how much independence he doesn’t have.
Rick is… y’know. He’s something. A work in progress.
Morty unconsciously leans in closer, trying to get a better view of all the photos. His wide eyes sparkled as the pictures flew by, capturing more of his attention as the flurry of colors and galaxies passed by.
He hadn’t even realized he stopped crying. Or how close he is to Evil Morty, not noticing how their legs are now tangled beneath the sheets and how Morty was basically laying on the other’s chest.
Evil Morty wraps the arm holding his phone around Morty’s shoulders, pulling him closer to his chest while making sure the screen was easily in both of their views.
It’s not weird. They’re both the same person. So what if they’re both touch starved?
It goes on like that for a while with Morty asking questions as Evil Morty explained each little thing. His voice, similar to his, is surprisingly lulling. It always holds a calculating tone, but now in his bed at night when the two teens are at peek exhaustion, the sound of it is more gentler. Sluggish even, almost as if to keep up his facade.
His slightly deeper voice, the vibrations of his chest, and the comfort of another person being here was enough to put him to sleep.
When Morty wakes up in the morning, he sees the body next to him gone. It doesn’t hurt him, but it does make him question if Evil Morty stayed the whole night or if he left as soon as he fell asleep.
He also wasn’t that hurt due to the fact that his phone screen is lit up with a text message from a minute ago. The profile picture is none other than himself with an eyepatch, the message reading: Good morning 🥱.
Maybe it’s fine if Morty doesn’t tell Rick about this encounter.