AN: I wanted to write something involving the One True Morty and something about Rick finding salvation or something, so this little piece was born. Didn't exactly turn out as I had expected, but I hope you'll like ^_^

Warnings: mentions of character death, angst, platonic love

Rickceiving Love and Forgiveness

Rick chugged the last contents of the bottle down before he grumbled and threw it carelessly in the backseat of his space cruiser.
He was internally scoffing at his own wretchedness. Mocking himself mentally for even being dumb enough to travel to where he was currently going.

It was common knowledge that Ricks didn't believe in the existence of god or something like the afterlife.
Religion was only something that had been made up by people to extort money from dumb and gullible sheep.
So, it was ridiculous that he was on his way to see someone that was supposed to be some kind of prophet.

'What does it even matter now?' Rick wondered. 'This is already the end. And nothing matters anyways… never had…'

He fumbled for another glass bottle on the bottom of his ship, hoping to find one that wasn't empty yet.
Despite not wanting to believe in any religious bullshit, the point was that Rick was going to die – very soon.
It was just his luck that he had contracted a deadly illness that couldn't be cured – not even by Rick Sanchez himself.
So, this only left him with one last option. To just accept and embrace his upcoming demise.

The reason why he was on his way to such a remote planet now was because he had overheard some rumors.
Apparently, some Ricks had been visiting this one person that everyone called only the One True Morty.

Rumor had it, that Ricks who were close to death would visit him to…"lighten their conscience" was probably the right phrasing for it.
Of course, Ricks weren't innocent people. From stealing, drug and weapon dealing, seducing mafia bosses' daughters, ranging up to blowing up entire solar systems, their crime records folders were thicker than the book "War and Peace".
And sometimes people just found it easier to accept their own death when they were able to accept the sins that they had committed.

It was one particular rumor though about one certain Rick that had picked his interest the most.
This Rick was said to have been suicidal, but before offing himself, he went to see the One True Morty.
It was said that after meeting that Morty, the Rick had come back as a completely changed human. He didn't try to kill himself and was supposed to live even now as the happiest Rick in the entire multiverse.

Of course, that rumor sounded too sketchy to be really true, but it made him wonder if meeting this special Morty would give you some kind of epiphany or something.
Well, Rick told himself that he had nothing to lose anymore. At best he could only gain something from this and if not… well, it's not like it really mattered.

Emptying another bottle, he neared a little dwarf planet on which the cult had been relocated.
At one point, the Mortys who followed the cult had lived on the Citadel of Ricks – as a minority, of course, that hadn't been paid much attention to at the time – however, after they found the one that had been dubbed the One True Morty, they had moved off to this tiny planet.

He began to land on a decent sized platform, which resembled a parking lot. It was mostly empty, but there were two or three other vehicles there, which looked exactly like his own.
It was a little reassuring to know that he wasn't the only Rick who had come to pay the One True Morty a visit.

After he got out of his space car, he walked over a little platform that led towards what must be the reception building.
Inside of it, he found a few Mortys clad in brown robes bustling about. One of them, who wore pure white garbs instead, immediately approached him.

"Hello, lost one. How can I help you?" he asked in a calm and quiet voice.

Rick wondered if the other was currently drugged because his eyes were half lidded and the way he talked sounded pretty odd. And what was up with "lost one"?
Deciding to ignore that – just like the stupid red face paint – he finally answered.

"I'm here to see the One True Morty. Do I need an appointment first or is he free right now?"

"Of course, you can meet him now. Please follow me." The Cult Morty murmured.

Rick walked after him as he was led out of the building through another entrance and they approached what must be the main building.
He studied the palace-like structure with disdain. It was made of white marble and adorned with lots of gold.

The scientist sneered. This cult seemed to be just like other religions that were only after other people's money in order to gain wealth. Even if this cult was founded by Mortys.

"You either charge your followers a lot or you keep running a pretty busy business." Rick commented.

"Oh, our cult doesn't charge. The services of the One True Morty are all free. We keep living from the donations that we receive from the followers of the One True Morty." The Cult Morty explained, not looking offended by the other's accusations.

"Donations? Really?" Rick lifted on side of his eyebrow.

Looking at this grand temple made it hard to believe that that was really the case.

The Morty seemed to notice Rick's disbelieve and explained further. "Yes. Some of our donors are wealthy and powerful Mortys, but we also have some Ricks who are blessing us with gifts every once in a while. This building for example had been donated by a Rick who thought that our previous housing wasn't worth for the One True Morty."

Of course, Rick wouldn't be able to know, but when the Mortys had started the cult, they lived literally in a garbage dump. They had built a little makeshift hut with what they could find for the One True Morty and that had been it.

This cultist had been there on the day when the generous Rick had left the humble hut and looked around the dumping grounds with new and clear eyes and then proclaimed loudly that this wasn't living conditions for anyone, especially not for the One True Morty.

The donor thought that the blessed one only deserved to live in a palace that would represent the same beauty that the One True Morty represented even though no building would ever be able to come close enough to it.

Rick wasn't exactly sure what to think anymore. So, a Rick had let this entire palace be built for the Morty that he was going to see now…
Must have been one heck of a revelation that this guy had gotten if this was his way of saying thanks.

He didn't comment further on the topic and just silently followed the boy inside the building. They walked through some hallways before the cultist stopped.

"Please wait here while I inform the holy one of your arrival."

With those words, Rick was momentarily left on his own. The place was eerily empty and silent.
Occasionally he would see a Cult Morty scurrying through one of the corridors, but that was it. With all the white, polished marble, the place seemed also very sterile.
Normally he would welcome such surroundings, but somehow he felt very uncomfortable even if the hallway that he was waiting in was lavished with carpets and a comfy-looking sofa as well as some chairs.

However, he remained standing even if he had no idea how long he would be left to wait. Instinctively Rick reached into the inside of his lab coat and fished out his flask, taking one big gulp and noting sadly that this was rest.
He re-pocketed his now empty flask and could only continue to wait.

After what felt like hours, but could have been no more than ten minutes, the Cult Morty finally returned. "The wise one is now ready to see you."

Again, the boy led the way and Rick just wordlessly followed. As they walked through the hallway, another Rick came from the opposite direction. He looked relieved and had a bright smile on his face, walking as if all the weights that life had ever put on him had been lifted.

Rick only raised one side of his unibrow and wondered if he would look like that when he was going to leave, too. It was hard to believe, then again, he didn't really care that much about it.

The Morty stopped in front of a doorway that was only covered by a piece of cloth, lifting it to the side and urging him inside. A funny remark was on Rick's tongue, but he kept his mouth shut and entered.
He had actually halfway expected to be led into a small, darkened room that would only be lit by candles or something like that, so the bright spacious room, which had huge open windows that reached from the floor all the way to the ceiling were a little surprising.

Even more surprising was the sight of the one who must be the One True Morty though. Rick really didn't have any idea what the other was supposed to look like, but since he was a Morty, he figured that he would look like—well, just another Morty, of course.

The boy on the other end of the room was certainly a Morty – he had the round face and round eyes – but instead of the pubescent boys that he was so used to see, this one looked more like a grownup or at least like an adolescent that was far older than just fourteen. He was clad in white robes that were open in the front, revealing a defined chest and a six-pack as well as a strong, long neck.

Instead of the short brown curls that awkwardly adorned his grandson's head, the OTM had a Mohawk.
Shockingly his left arm was replaced with a mechanical one. It looked like an intricate piece of art and was made out of gold. Rick was immediately reminded of the "Golden Touch" that he had heard about in rumors.

The oddest thing about this boy was the golden light that was surrounding him. The scientist would have been convinced that it was just a set up for ambience and the light came actually from somewhere else and just shone on him if his eyes weren't radiating a bright light of the same color.

"Please come closer, Rick." The One True Morty spoke.

His voice was calm, but thankfully sounded more normal than that of the cultist from before and his friendly gaze was also not weirding Rick out as much. Finally getting out of his rigidity – he hadn't even noticed that he had just frozen up on the spot and staring – Rick approached the other.
As the Morty motioned to a floor pillow in front of him, the older man took a seat.

"I-I heard about other Ricks who came here." Rick started the conversation a bit awkwardly. "So, I decided to give it a shot, too, I uh guess…"

"I know why you are here, Rick." The other replied, still with the same calm voice and friendly expression on his face.

"Oh, you do?" the scientist's brow lifted in equal surprise and disbelieve. "Then we can just cut the chitchat and go over to you doing your magic number or whatever it is you do."

The Morty closed his eyes and regret was edged into his features now. "There is no "magic trick". And I cannot cure what you have. I know that it is not what you want to hear, but your quickly nearing death is unavoidable."

Rick's face fell and he was surprised that his opposite knew about that. "Yeah, I figured that much already."

"But that was not the reason for why you came here anyway." The other continued.

"No, it isn't." The scientist agreed. "I'm here to clear up my conscience or-or something like that. I guess."

"Why do you think that you need to do that?"

Rick's mouth formed a thin line. He didn't like that this started to sound like some kind of therapy session. But then again, this was what it was and he knew that before he came.

"Well, I guess I don't really have to tell you that. Especially not to a Morty. It's pretty obvious, isn't it? I mean, I'm a Rick!"

"You Ricks do not want to believe in the afterlife, yet you fear that you might end up in hell for the things that you have done in your lifetime." The One True Morty summed up. "And while it is true that you may have committed many sins, your self-flagellation is pointless. For all the things that you Ricks do, you are not monsters."

"Not monsters?!" Rick sat up straighter. "You've got to be kidding me! I-I-I knew this one Rick for example. He—he and his Morty once got stuck in a collapsed cave and do you know what he did? He survived by eating his Morty. He ate his own grandson! So you can't tell me that Ricks aren't monsters!"

"That was merely out of self-preservation. I do believe that his Morty would have done the same if they would have chosen for the Rick to become the sacrifice." The One True Morty looked unfazed by what he had been just told. Then he asked as if Rick's outburst had never happened, "Just why are you afraid of something that you do not believe in?"

The scientist's mouth fell open and he stared for a moment with wide eyes at the out-of-this-world boy. "I… urgh. You're right. This is stupid. I shouldn't have come here."

Rick got up and was about to leave.

"And now you want to run away like a coward? Have you not done this your whole life already? I had the impression that you came here because you decided to stop running."

The old man halted as One True Morty continued. "Obviously, you did not really come here just to confess. And this also is not about you being worried about going to hell."

"No." Rick turned back around again.

"Your nihilism is the only problem here. The fact that nothing matters, not even your impending death."

For a moment, they just looked at each other before the elder sighed and took a seat on the pillow again. The talk wasn't over yet.

"I must inform you that I cannot help you with that issue."

Rick opened his mouth to reply, but the Morty lifted his mechanical arm and continued before he could say a word. "I simply am the wrong person for you to talk to. However, I can help you smooth the way so you can receive what you are searching for."

As if the words weren't confusing enough for the scientist already, the actions that came from the One True Morty afterwards were even more so.
The boy leaned forward and his mechanical arm reached out to touch Rick's shoulder. It didn't just stop there because the scientist was suddenly pulled forward as the Morty's other arm reached around him. Rick found himself suddenly in a hug and on top of that, the One True Morty moved his head forward to give him a kiss on the forehead.

A weird, warm feeling spread through Rick and he wasn't sure if it came from the touch of the mechanical arm, or the other's golden aura or was it just from being hugged by a Morty – he had no idea why or what it was!
Soon, he was released from the embrace again and the One True Morty grabbed a paper and a pen that laid by his side and began to write something on it.

Rick was still frozen on the spot, stuck in some kind of trance-like state almost and only was ripped out of it after the boy had finished writing and handed the note to him.
Dumbfounded he looked at the folded piece of paper.

"Fly home now, Rick, and give this to your Morty."

Rick finally took the paper, curious as to what was written on it, but not daring to look at it. He had a feeling that he was not supposed to see it since it was written from one Morty to another and while he usually wouldn't care about something like that and also didn't believe in superstitions, he was sure that something bad would happen if he did.
So, he just pocketed the small slip of paper and stood up.

The One True Morty smiled at him and wished him a save travel.
Rick didn't reply, still feeling confused and whatever it was what the other had done to him when he touched him. As he passed through the hallways back towards where he had parked his space cruiser, he slowly came out of his daze and finally took notice of his surroundings.

The white marble walls looked beautiful and bright and he hadn't noticed before that there were some patterns on them. On the outside, it was even more beautiful.
The air was warm and crisp, the sun shone gently and the sounds of singing birds and an occasional breeze could be heard.
For some reason he felt lighter as he walked with a much straighter posture and while he may not have noticed it himself, he wore a small smile on his face.

The mood that he was in didn't falter on his way home and the thought of dying soon wasn't as dreading as it was before.
Rick had always hated having to face his own mortality. Even if he always acted as if nothing mattered because if someone precious to him died, he could just move to another dimension where they were still alive, he always hated thinking about his own end – no matter how unavoidable that was. After all, he lived a dangerous life-style. Not only the adventures and battles against all sorts of alien mercenaries and intergalactic governments, but also his habit of abusing alcohol and other drugs.

Yet, while it may seem to onlookers that he was suicidal, he clung to life like a beast. Even knowing that it was all in vain and would eventually amount up to nothing, he kept on fighting against death for as long and as hard as was possible for an almost god-like human.
Of course, he knew that it would make no difference how long he stayed around or even if he had been born at all. Ricks died all the time out there in other dimensions and he'd once visited one in which he never even came to exist.

The universe doesn't care about such things. It will continued to exist and expand whether Rick was around or not.
It had done so for millions of years and will continue to do it for millions of years more.

That thought had made him miserable for such a long time and he actually loathed the universe for it, trying to plunder it and show it his middle finger as often as he could. He took it for a ride and tried to hold on as long as he could, but the universe would always throw him off again in the end. And yet, as he looked at all the stars, solar systems and asteroids that he zipped past on his way home, he couldn't hate it. He admired its beauty, looking at it with the same eyes that his grandson had looked at it the first time that he had taken him out to space.

Morty. He needed to see his grandson.
The little dork that he constantly treated like a pet or accessory. Rick knew that he was a bad grandfather for always dragging the brunet on dangerous adventures, abusing him for his own selfish whims and on top of that treating him like shit.
He had never said how much he loved his grandson, how much he enjoyed his company, how flattered he was by his cute little hero worship or how proud of him he was when the boy showed that he had learned a thing or two from him whether it was something about his inventions or about aliens.

While Rick wasn't one for bonding – at least not openly, at the risk of others mocking him for it – maybe now that his end was near was a good time to make up for it and tell him. However, first he should give him the note.
Rick still wanted to know what the One True Morty had written, but he resisted the temptation. For some odd reason he was sure that all of his happiness – as little and as fleeting as it may be – would be ripped away from him if he even so much as peeked at it.

He landed the ship in the driveway and entered the house through the open garage door.
On the workbench laid a half-finished device that he had tried to tinker with before he gave up in frustration and sallied to the dwarf planet on which the One True Morty was located. He sunk into his swivel chair and looked at the wires, screws and other pieces that were strewn around. Out of habit, he reached into his lab coat and retrieved his flask, unscrewing the cap and guiding the bottleneck to his lips before remembering that it was empty.

Now that he was back, he could actually refill it. Rick did have a small fridge installed in one of the shelves where he stored some emergency spirits.
Instead of swiveling over to get it, he just placed the empty flask on a free space of the workbench and ignored it.

"Hey, Rick. You're back." A round head with brown curly locks peeked inside the garage.

Warmth flooded Rick's chest at hearing and seeing the boy and he couldn't help the sad smile that sprouted on his face.

"Hey, Morty." He softly replied instead of making a comment how the boy had just stated the obvious.

"Is something wrong, Rick?" Morty worried a little at seeing the unusual facial expression on his grandfather's face.

"Kind of. But it's not really important." Rick replied, but his features didn't change. "I have something for you."

He reached into his lab coat and pulled out the piece of paper. The brunet looked at the note in confusion before he accepted, unfolded and then began to read it.
Whatever was written on it couldn't have been very long because he was finished in a matter of seconds. Morty looked stunned before he turned his gaze back to Rick and looked at him oddly for a moment.

Then he suddenly hugged him, the piece of paper falling onto the ground.
Only the words 'Please forgive him.' were written on it in golden ink. Yet it seemed as if there was written so much more than just that small, simple sentence.

"I love you, Grandpa Rick." Morty said and hugged him as if it was the last time that they'd see each other.

And maybe it was. Not that his grandson would know since Rick hadn't told anyone about his illness.
Even if he wasn't entirely sure how much time he still had, he was sure that it wasn't much.

The scientist was stunned by his grandson's actions at first and tears began to well up in his eyes. He returned the hug, but despite the fact that he had started to cry, he was smiling.

Rick felt that it was much easier to accept his death now.
He knew now that he had been truly loved in his life. And even more, he knew now that he mattered.
Even if it was only to his Morty, Rick had mattered.

AN: Although I had this laying around for a while because it felt off and I wanted to fix it, I still wasn't quite able to figure out what exactly is wrong with it. So, since I'm running out of stuff to post, you get it in this form even though I'm not quite happy with how it turned out…