A Final Season of Rick and Morty

21 -- Sane Rick and Torture

President Morty's portal sends Morty and Rayna falling, onto a trampoline, and each bounce causes an attached bell to ring. Morty's panic shifts into panicked confusion as he climbs off the trampoline to run up to the back of a farmhouse, but he halts when a coatless Rick in a turtleneck comes out eating an apple. As Rayna sits calmly on the trampoline, she observes him and everything, seeing the Rick stand in awe with a pale breathlessness about him.

Morty assumes, "I know, you're surprised to see a Rayna, but we don't have time to explain. I need you to portal us to—" but he sees the Rick's eyes fill up with tears, looking at him, not Rayna.

The Rick says, "Oh, no, it's not so much her," clearing his throat. "It's... I'm surprised to see a Morty here." He wipes his eyes, "Did your Rick send you? Or did you make a portal while thinking of a Rick that wouldn't be mean?"

"No..." Morty says, confused. "President Morty sent us—He—We don't have time to—We need to go back and—"

"Oh, then..." the Rick says, understanding. Then he speaks as if he's explained this a hundred times before, "He sent you here to learn about us. When you've seen everything, he'll retrieve you, seeing as I don't have a portal gun."

Morty asks, "So, you're the Rick that left your Morty? He's your Morty?"

"No. I left Mortys, when my Morty killed himself," and never was there a man trying harder to force a smile over so much pain. "He was my one and true Morty..."

"Your..." Morty recognizes. "I've heard something like that before, one true Morty. These religious Mortys were calling me that when—"

"Religious? Heh heh, they made me into a religion," the Rick chuckles bitterly. He sighs with a smirk, "I devote myself to science but I'm made into its natural enemy." He looks to the sky to be sarcastically Shakespearean for a moment, "Irony: what a bitter mistress sheee; bestowing such sloppy seconds after soddening Alanis Morissette's with the irony of not knowing what irony beee." Then he looks to Morty and Rayna's annoyed faces, "Sorry. Oh, why don't we start here, I just finished," lifting a welcome sign and hammering it into the ground.

It says: 'Welcome to Sane Rick's. Enjoy yourself jumping until I hear the bell.'

Morty almost gasps and looks to him, astonished there could be such a Rick.

Sane Rick points to the name, "Yeah, I don't know if I am. They just tend to call me that. What's your name? (Your number, I mean.)"

"Oh, uh. I'm Morty C-137."

Sane Rick blinks, "Oh..." understanding entirely why this Morty was sent here. Though Rayna saw it in his face, he recovers without Morty really noticing. "Nice to meet you," pretending he didn't know the number, pretending he didn't know it wasn't Morty's.

He waves for Morty and Rayna to join him inside his home. As they walk, he habitually puts his arm around Morty like he would a long-lost son, but he takes it away when Morty flinches. Sane Rick wipes his newly watering eyes, "Sorry," trying to smile it off. "It's just rare to see a Morty sent here... It's never gone well..."

* * *

Morty, President Morty that is, looks down at Rick as Rick sort of lets himself collapse to lie on his back, looking away from the anger and pain in Morty's gaze.

1-03 removes his hand from a hand-shaped socket in the wall when a light above it switches from red to green. He says, "Shock Armor's recharged. Your turn," speaking to Morty.

Morty doesn't take his eyes off Rick, "I'm fine for now." Morty takes a deep breath and becomes pleased that his therapy has paid off when he manages to keep his voice contained, "What's the matter?" speaking to Rick. "Not genius enough to figure out how to get out of this mess, are you?"