"Fucking run, Morty!" Rick yelled over his shoulder. Morty was a few short steps behind, but it wasn't nearly as fast as he would have liked with gunfire closing in. Luckily Trestormoorps were terrible shots, most of these bureaucrats were, but they could get lucky. He didn't want Morty to get shot by dumb luck. Unfortunately, it wasn't hard to imagine, the kid always seemed to land the short straw in just about everything. He scanned the area for a place to dodge, but most of the roads had been blocked off or were too crowded to push through. Becoming part of the crowd wouldn't help him, the bounty on his head in this system was way too high, and they'd stoop to killing civilians. Not that he cared about that, it's just hard to make headway hopping over dead bodies. They really slow you down.

He finally spotted an alley open enough to weave through. He glanced back again. Morty was slowing down. He was moaning in fear and his legs were failing him. "Goddamnit, Morty, it's not like I can carry you!" Rick complained, slowing slightly to grab his wrist and tug him along. He couldn't yell directions to him and he needed to get these guys off their trail. He started pulling him the opposite way through two herds of people. He had to shake these guys off before they reached their goal. Morty had to hold out just a bit longer.

Morty was panting and if they didn't find somewhere to hide soon he'd probably keel over. He knew he was getting out-legged by an old man, but he didn't have the energy or focus to be embarrassed about it, even when Rick grabbed his wrist and started pulling. His stomach was giving him one hell of a time and these...whatever they were, they were really pissed off. Not that they'd never made people angry, it was all they seemed to do when they went anywhere, but these guys were so persistent! All because Rick took some kind of power cell.

Rick started zig-zagging, pulling him forcefully through people. Morty felt like he was going to be sick. He shouldn't have eaten the damn meatlump Rick had forced onto him to 'experience the culture.' He nearly staggered over someone's foot as they moved, catching himself quickly. He had a feeling when he looked up again that he knew where Rick was heading. From the lack of gunfire, Morty guessed the guards didn't. May have been a case of positive thinking, it was hard to hear anything in a roaring crowd (what kind of language was this?), but he was willing to believe it.

The running was almost over and Rick was relieved. This had been exhausting, especially from dragging Morty's half-dead weight. Damn those bastards for taking his portal gun. He ducked into the alley. There were still aliens loitering about in clumps, manageable clumps. Rick couldn't slow his pace, not until he found...ah, yes, a suitable side-alley, which would definitely have a concealed panel. He ducked inside and walked along at a hastened yet slower pace, letting go of Morty's now sore wrist.

"Je-Jesus Christ, Morty, if I knew I'd have to drag you around I would have brought a stroller," he reprimanded as he ran his hand along the walls.

"I-I'm sorry, Rick, I j-just don't feel so good, that's all," Morty said, rubbing his wrist. Not only had he eaten that stupid food, but one of the guards had given him a good punch in the stomach earlier, which certainly didn't help.

"Probably the meatlump. Doesn't do so well in human digestive tracks. Not one of my better ideas," Rick admitted. He had pressured Morty into eating it to fuck with him, not knowing they'd upped their security drastically since the last time he was here. He hadn't expected to almost get caught and chased around the city.

"Seriously, Rick?" Morty started angrily. "Did-did you know that the whole time? Wh-why would you make me eat that, why would you do that if we're going to get chased around a-and junk? You're an asshole, Rick, you know that? You're a real asshole!" He was getting so sick of Rick's bullcrap. Why did he go on these adventures anyway? They were always the same. Rick did something awful, they almost died, and then they went home. It wasn't worth it. Yet, even though he was awful most of the time, he liked being around Rick. Right now he wasn't so sure, not the way his stomach felt, but in general.

"Yeah, yeah- Oh, found it!" Rick announced with a grin and a grand gesture towards a hole he'd opened in the paneling.

Morty mumbled something under his breath, still peeved, but walked inside. Rick followed, the panel closing behind on its own.

"Look, Morty, I didn't expect this, ok? I-it was a lot easier last time I was here. This was a supposed to be an in-out thing, not a 5k," Rick explained, walking into the lead and sounding as un-apologetic as he could. He did feel bad for dragging Morty into this, the situation was a lot more dangerous than he'd calculated, and bringing him into it when he was soon going to have serious stomach trouble wasn't good for either of them.

"Whatever, Rick," Morty huffed, clutching his stomach. Now that Rick had told him about the food he felt worse and he wasn't sure if it was actually worse or in his head. They walked on in silence for a while, their minds wandering, Rick plotting their next move and Morty trying not to focus on how much he hurt and how tired and pissed off he was at his stupid grandpa for getting him sick for fun. At least he didn't have to run anymore, although this cramped tunnel seemed to be going on forever. "Is it much farther? I want to sit down."

Rick was having the same thought about the tunnel. They usually led right to some house of ill repute; no one wanted to walk for days to get drugs and prostitutes. And the entrances generally had an alien or robot nearby to collect a passcode. Something wasn't right about this…

Rick halted. Mental rundown. Portalled in. Wandered around the city's hub, gave Morty a little tour. Bought a cheap meatlump. Made Morty eat it. Congratulated himself. Taken back entrance of Threatsad labs to grab the unguarded ionic power cell. Back entrance was surprisingly well-guarded. Killed the guards and took the power cell. More guards arrived, took him by surprise. Grabbed Morty first, then nabbed his portal gun. Tried to put a tracking chip on him, but he broke free. Killed guy holding Morty. Started running.

Ok, so what was he missing? He had to be missing…

And that's when he realized it.

When they'd taken his portal gun he'd been too distracted, he didn't see if they-

He turned to Morty, frantic, "Morty, did-did they hold anything up against you? Like a purple scanner?"

Morty forgot any anger he may have had about the meatlump when he saw the panicked look on Rick's face. When Rick freaked out it upped the anxiety levels and kicked everything else aside. He tried to remember. "G-geez Rick, I dunno, they-uh-they..." Morty struggled to think, "I-I just remember them hitting me in the stomach and-and when they did I think I saw a yellow flash?" Rick looked at him in horror. "I-it could have j-just been my shirt, though, I-I mean, I wasn't paying good attention," Morty added, intense worry filling him. He could be indecisive, but he was sure he remembered seeing that light and thinking it was weird since he didn't usually see lights when he got hit. He wanted to retract it. The look on Rick's face was not spelling out good news.

"W-well, Morty, we're being tracked," Rick said stiffly, pulling out his flask and taking a long swig. He started back towards where they entered, Morty close behind. "They implanted it when I wasn't looking. They knew where I'd be going, they likely locked up the brothels and left the underground passes. Th-they're gonna find us soon, we gotta get out before they surround us on both sides."

Rick grabbed Morty's hand and began to sprint and startled Morty didn't argue, but he couldn't run well. His stomach was really killing him.

Rick knew Morty couldn't keep up, but they had to get out of here fast. It wasn't the meatlump that was upsetting his stomach. He couldn't tell Morty what he knew. He couldn't say it out loud.

Morty always drew the short straw.

Not only had they implanted a tracking chip, they'd also implanted a garglesnipe. It was a cyborg parasite, usually remotely controlled in prisons. A countermeasure. If the tracking chip wandered outside set parameters and remained outside too long, the garglesnipe started to eat it's favorite food, anything. Right now, it was surrounded by internal organs, and it was a creature that would continue to eat until everything was gone or it's own body ruptured. If Rick didn't get it out of Morty quick...even the best hospitals couldn't help someone who was dead on arrival.

He couldn't tell him that. And, even though it put them both in jeopardy, he couldn't leave him here to fend for himself. That was a definite death sentence. He debated getting it out himself, but he didn't have the tools or the time. They both had to go back to Threatsad. His portal gun was the only way they would make it out of here. Usually the enemy would be surprised by him going back into the thick of it, but with Morty by his side…

At least they hadn't gotten to his laser gun or his freeze ray.

He stopped briefly to let Morty catch his breath. Rick was worried. Morty was definitely in more pain than before and he didn't have enough experience with garglesnipes to know how much time he had.

Probably not enough, but Rick Sanchez couldn't bail on this challenge. On his grandson.

He had a few gadgets that weren't rusty yet.

Before Morty could complain, Rick crouched and commanded, "Get on my back,"

"I thought you couldn't carry me," Morty sassed, remembering Rick's words from before, but still climbing on. He couldn't keep going like this, he needed a ride.

"I still have those ski shoes and now's the time to use 'em," Rick explained, not bothering to be snarky, and held up his laser gun for Morty to take. "We have to go back, Morty. W-we have to get my portal gun. And if we have to do that with them tracking us, we have to be faster than them."

"O-ok," Morty responded uncertainly, taking the gun and not sure what to make of this behavior. It wasn't like Rick to be so serious, even in times of peril.

"Hold on tight and shoot anyone who shoots at us," Rick instructed.

"Got it!"

"Go go Sanchez ski shoes!" Rick yelled and zoomed the short distance left out of the passageway. They'd turned back just in time. Rick zipped around the corner out the door and bowled over a handful of Trestormoorps, which Morty quickly tried to shoot, but only hit one as they sped away. "Look ahead!" Rick cried and Morty whipped around, gun pointed forward before he was and making himself dizzy. There were a lot more once they'd gotten out of the alley and into the main plaza. Morty shot at them haphazardly, but Rick noted that he was definitely a better shot than the majority of the enemies. He'd taught him well, in his lazy 'shoot stuff for me' way.

They were making good headway through the plaza. Morty was a decent shot and Rick used the freeze ray when necessary, but knocking people aside bodily and crashing through frozen sculptures were both equally terrible options, so he'd pick and choose.

The lab wasn't very far now, not with these babies, only 2 blocks down the main road. Rick had a feeling they could make it. The problem would be finding his portal gun, but he'd deal with that when they got there.

"Keep it up, Morty!" he said as Morty killed another guard. "You're doing great!"

"I-I'm not feeling so great, Rick," Morty confessed, his voice strained. His stomach didn't feel upset anymore, not like he was sick, it was more like the time he'd been stabbed by a Roilock. Multiplied by 20. It was taking everything out of him to hold on, but he had to shoot too. He had to keep Rick safe. He couldn't bear to be useless.

"We're almost there, just hang on until we get there," Rick pleaded, hating the way he sounded. Hating himself for putting his grandson's life in danger and yet still being concerned about sounding weak in front of him. But he couldn't show his worry to Morty. No uncertainty. He had to be confident to get him home safe and that's what he was going to do.

Morty didn't say anything, but silently continued to shoot over his shoulder. Rick took it as a positive sign.

They made it to the entrance without stopping. It wasn't like the back way, the entrance was crowded with all kind of aliens, so Morty stopped shooting. He didn't want to hurt anyone who wasn't a part of this, he never liked to do that. He needed a break too. He was exhausted and in pain and everything around him was starting to look a little fuzzy. Maybe he could close his eyes, just for a minute...

Rick's aim was good enough for both of them. He was able to freeze guards without hitting too many civilians, there were too many to avoid completely. He was surprised he didn't hear any complaints from Morty, but he had a feeling the kid was close to passing out. Now that they were here, Rick decided to change the plan a bit. Originally he'd wanted to look for his portal gun, but he didn't have any way to track it. It could be anywhere and they didn't have the time for a treasure hunt. If the main blueprints of the place still held, there were portals on the 3rd level that he could rewire. That's where he headed.

Of course, the Trestormoorps knew he was here, but their tracking seemed to work on basic location only. So while they could guess what section he was in, they couldn't pinpoint what level he was on in a 20 story building. Since this was a known flaw, they stuck to the staircases. That made his ascent relatively easy. He shot the guards on the stairs, crowded together like lambs to the slaughter, and careened down the 3rd floor hallway. He knowingly bypassed numerous portal rooms, all crowded, to get to the ones at the end. No matter where you went, there was an overarching laziness. Everyone would rather wait in line than walk a few extra yards.

Rick found an empty room at the far end of the hall. He shut the door and froze the lock. That would buy them a little time once they discovered what floor they were on.

"M-Morty?" he asked worriedly, jiggling him a bit. Morty groaned and Rick was so grateful for the sound he couldn't help smiling. "I'm gonna put you down, ok?" Morty mumbled something into his back and Rick attempted to place him on the floor as gently as he could, but it was hard to gently get someone off your back. Rick ended up sitting on the ground so Morty could roll off of him, but Morty wouldn't let go.

Rick wasn't liking this. Ok, a part of him was liking this, but the immediacy of the situation had to be his focus. Morty was practically incoherent. He wasn't listening, he wasn't responding properly. He could feel his heart racing against his back. This thing was devouring him faster than he'd anticipated.

Rick grabbed Morty's clammy arm and began to pry him off. "C-c'mon, Morty, I have to make a portal so we can get the hell out of here!" he insisted. Rick didn't know if Morty was intentionally holding on or not, but at the touch of his hand Morty's grip loosened.

Even though Rick needed to get on the portal situation, he turned around to check on Morty. It wasn't pretty. Morty's eyes were puffy and half open, barely seeing, barely comprehending. Blood was trickling out the sides of his mouth and he had no way of knowing if Morty was aware of it. But Morty was aware of the pain in his stomach, still clutching at it with one hand as the other struggled to hold him upright. It pained Rick to see him like this. He wished he had something to dull the pain, but his flask was empty and he couldn't portal anywhere for help.

At least not yet.

"It'll be alright, Morty," he promised, pulling himself away to reconfigure the portal. It shouldn't take long. They should have plenty of time.

Barely 5 seconds had passed before there was loud pounding on the door.

"Shit," Rick mumbled, twisting dials on the portal. It was an older model, it would take longer than he thought.

Meanwhile, Morty watched him bleerily. He wasn't stupid. He knew this wasn't because of some stupid food. Those guys had done something to him with that light, that was obvious. The way Rick had panicked, how he'd held his hand instead of his wrist, telling him he was doing a good job, telling him to just hang on...granted, Rick had done all those things before, but never all in one day. And never without cracking a joke or making a snide remark.

Morty was disappointed. Rick usually told him when they were in deep shit, but the way Rick didn't mention it except to say things would be fine...Rick never said things would be fine. The world was a shitty place and shitty things always happened. So if he wasn't saying that, it meant this was a bad one. A really bad one.

That's how Morty knew he was dying.

He could feel it, the way his body felt heavy, how tired and dizzy he was. He leaned over and saw blood spatter on the ground and he couldn't tell if it was from his nose or mouth, he was that far gone.

But when he heard the loud thumps against the door, saw Rick's shoulder stoop as he worked even faster, he knew he had to do something. He had to help Rick.

A few feet to his left there was a set of stairs. Morty crawled over to it, laser still in hand, and used the staircase to pull himself to his feet. It hurt like a bitch, everything did, but he did it. He stood weakly when barely 10 minutes ago he'd been running down the street. What a weird thing to think about.

He looked at Rick again. He didn't want to die and he knew Rick didn't want him to die either. That's why they'd rushed here, why he was trying so hard to get them back home when they could have kept on running. He loved that about Rick. He was a dick, he always would be, but as much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, the guy really cared about them. About him.

He wished he could tell him. Let him now how much he loved him and that he forgave him for all the awful shit he put him through. To thank him for trusting him and teaching him, for being his friend and taking him on adventures, even though he nearly got him killed. Actually would this time.

Morty shook his head. No. Now was not the time to get morbid. There was still hope. He dragged his feet slowly towards the door, positioning himself between it and the portal, gun pointed shakily. He had to cover Rick, like he had so many times before. If these things got in, he'd shoot them. Then Rick would yell that he was done and yank him towards the portal and they'd be on their way. They'd get out of here and he'd get better and they'd do it all again next week, just like always.

The door burst inward, all the pounding and pushing had lead to a breakthrough. Rick looked back, freeze gun raised to stop them from hindering his progress and hurting his floored grandson, only to find Morty standing in the way. His eyes widened. Morty was barely standing, holding his gun in both hands, and shooting with abandon. "Morty, what are you doing? Get out of the way!" Rick yelled desperately. Morty couldn't take them all on, not as injured as he was. He needed to duck and cover.

"Th-they're here because of me!" Morty croaked defensively, trying his best to make his voice carry when it was hard to talk as it was. He turned his head. "Hurry and get us out of here! I-I can do this!"

Blood flew from his mouth as he spoke and Rick's heart sank. This was all his fault and Morty was still taking the blame. Taking a stand when everyone expected him to take a back seat. Putting all his faith in Rick, a narcissistic drunk, to fix everything and get him home. Morty was one of very few who ever believed in him with such tenacity.

He had to save him.

Rick pointed his gun around Morty and froze some that were slipping by his laser. There was a crowd of them by the door that he froze as well, blocking some of the others out for a bit before they realized their frozen comrades shattered easily. "Get closer to me, Morty, we'll be out of here soon!" he assured him. Morty nodded and started to shuffle backwards slowly. Satisfied with this, Rick turned back to the portal. There were a few more things he had to do, it wouldn't take more than a minute.

The unfrozen guards in the back were still attempting to shoot, so Morty shot back with faltering accuracy as the pain in his stomach flared. He couldn't let them damage the portal, not when they were so close.

He was almost to Rick, only a few feet between them, when a large alien, different from the others, appeared behind them in the doorway. He pushed the others out of the way and a large laser appeared, propped on a frozen guard's shoulder. Morty's already decimated stomach knotted. At first, the guard aimed at him, but his focus shifted. He aimed for Rick, standing a few feet to his right, his back turned in concentration.

Morty knew what he had to do.

As the guard pulled the trigger, Morty used what little strength he had to propel himself in front of the blast. Rick, hearing unfamiliar gunfire, turned and instinctively shot at the large guard and the others near him. Morty's yell of pain reached his ears at the same instant, and he looked down to see him balled at his feet, blood already in a puddle around him.

"Morty!" he cried in horror, kneeling down to assess the damage. He'd been shot right in the stomach, the very worst place. Blood from thegarglenipe's internal rampage had been freed in huge volume. As he looked on, Morty reached for him, gripping his forearms and smothering them with blood, staring up at him with those bleary eyes, now filled with tears.

Morty had saved him.

He'd sacrificed himself for him.

"Wh-what the hell, Morty?! Th-this isn't how it's supposed to go! I-I'm supposed to save you!" Rick couldn't blink away the tears brimming in his eyes. Couldn't ignore the way his heart clenched at the sight of this kid, a kid who had so much to live for, bleeding to death while a crotchety old fart got to walk away. He knew there was no way to save him. Even if he got him through the portal, he wouldn't survive transport. The garglesnipe had eaten away so much that a quarter of Morty's blood had already spilled around him. Tears ran down his cheeks.

What had he done?

"I had to, Rick. I couldn't...I couldn't see you die." Morty was so tired. Everything hurt. He wanted to close his eyes, but he had a feeling that, if he did, he'd never get to see him again. He didn't like the thought of it. Didn't like that his last view of Rick would be such a sad one. He'd rarely seen Rick cry and now, to see him crying over him, he felt a mix of relief and agony; knowing that he really cared, knowing how much this would hurt.

Rick wanted to yell at him, to scream, "Oh, but it's fine for me to watch you die?!" but he held it in. He didn't want to yell at Morty. Not now. He grabbed Morty's forearms and pulled him up. Morty groaned in pain as Rick held him close, soaking himself in his blood, feeling Morty's warmth leave his body. He'd wanted to do this for so long, to be this close to Morty, to hold him tight and not let him go. He didn't have that kind of freedom anymore. Morty was going to leave him behind and Rick would be left alone. Sure, he had Beth and Summer and, unfortunately, Jerry, but they were the same in every dimension. They couldn't measure up to Morty. They couldn't make him feel things like Morty could. They wouldn't put up with his shit and call him out like Morty, with his reprimanding innocence, always wanting to be the good guy even when he had to do bad things. Morty was an ideal to Rick. The kind of person he'd wanted to be, but never had the mentality to possess, so he'd possessed it in his own way. By laying claim to Morty. Bringing him along with him, exposing him to alien planets, making him his little partner in crime. And his selfishness had brought them to this…

Rick buried his face in Morty's shoulder, crying softly.

Morty felt limp. His body was a cesspool of physical pain, but the emotional pain was creeping in. Never seeing his family again, dying so young, letting go of everything. If he'd had the energy he would have screamed. Yet, when Rick pulled him close, arms holding him tight against his chest, a bit of that fear dissolved. Rick was here. Rick would take care of it. Even...even though he knew there was no solution but death, he was glad he wasn't here alone. With difficulty, he wrapped his arms loosely around Rick, whose breath hitched.

"I'm sorry, Morty." I wish I was better, he wanted to say. I wish I'd taken care of you like I should have. Treated you how you deserved. He wouldn't say it. All these sentiments had come too late, there was no point saying them now. Empty words wouldn't bring him back from the brink of death.

Morty didn't want him to be sorry. Rick hadn't forced him to take the bullet, he'd made his own choice. And he'd experienced a lot because of Rick. He thought about earlier, how there'd been so many things he'd wanted to say. All of them seemed to fizzle away, leaving only one of utmost importance. One thing he had to say before he closed his eyes, tears slipping. "I love you, Rick," he whispered feebly, trying to make his arms squeeze just a little tighter around him.

It felt as if Rick's heart had stopped. This was it. This was the end. He had to say it.

"I love you too, Morty."

Even on the brink of death, he wouldn't kiss him. He didn't want Morty to die confused about things. Just because he didn't understand the difference between familial and romantic love didn't mean Morty had the same problem. He held Morty close, even as his hands fell limp and his breath started to fade, he held him. He held him until more guards surrounded the door, still too stupid to knock over the frozen ones and trying to shoot around them. He finally stood, turned to the portal, flipped some switches and reset the coordinates.

It was time to go home.

He looked at Morty one last time, eyes opened slightly and blood all over. He hadn't deserved this. Rick seared it into his mind. How good Morty was, how terrible he had been to him. He wondered how things could have been if he'd been different. How things could have been better...

He stepped into the garage, tears returning full force. He ripped off his blood soaked shirt and pants, throwing them to the ground. He hated himself. What had that all been for? Some stupid power cell? Had that really been worth Morty's life?

He pushed his gadgets off his desk, he cleared the shelves, he threw things he didn't remember having. A staff from Klufilia. A Entrimium from his days fighting against the Galactic Federation. Then he grabbed the incubation chamber from Morty's sex robot. He paused, looking at his blood soaked clothes on the floor. Not his blood, Morty's blood.

Maybe…

Maybe he could make things better.

Maybe things could be different...

Ok, it kind of turned into the beginning of Guilty Rick at the end, and I'm not sorry.