POV: The Citadel of Ricks – Inner Office of President Morty
Location: Reality Node Citadel-Center Prime, Sector Fold-137A
The Citadel was unusually quiet.
Even the boundless corridors of science debate, debating egos, and reality-splitting experiments had an undercurrent of fear. The kind of quiet before a black hole unfurls.
At the top of the beaming tower, behind gravimetric walls of steel, and mind-scramblers, President Morty stood in his own command center, eyes narrowed, face half-lit by holographic displays.
Hovering before him was the status of six crashed universes.
All of them red.
All of them Zane-claimed.
All once ruled by "normal" Ricks — now re-purposed, colonized, remade in the name of Zane.
Morty turned to the gathered council — a rare meeting of high-value Ricks, specialists, and defense heads.
President Morty (calm):
"We watched him burn Magedom. Rewrite Story. Crush Empathy.
Now he's cleaning out the middle. Six standard Rick-verses down in a matter of days.
No sign of slowdown.
So, we're gonna stop pretending this isn't our problem."
A silence followed.
General Rick K-77 (military analyst):
"Y-yeah, but Morty — I mean, Mr. President — these were low-end universes. Sloppy imitations of us. Garage-drunk doppelgangers. What if he just burns out on the low-hanging fruit?"
President Morty:
"You're not listening.
Zane isn't burning out. He's drinking it all in.
And the more he drinks in, the more we become dinosaurs."
He stepped closer and extended a new hologram — a whirling tempest of blue, red, and black.
President Morty:
"We are dealing with something that doesn't just kill worlds — he replaces the meaning of them. And now he's building entire universes that function on him."
Council Response
Tech Overseer Rick H-9:
"But he's still local to his own conquered zones. We've cordoned off Sectors Z, Origin-0, and the Standard Six. If he pushes beyond—"
President Morty (cutting him off):
"If he pushes beyond, it's over.
He's no Rick anymore. He doesn't play variant rules.
He's a continuum virus that takes the form of a mind.
A new feed flickered open — images of super mega factories, clone worlds, self-fabricating shipyards, and hollowed-out suns used as viral reactors.
President Morty:
"He's building cities out of our failures.
Armies out of our sloth.
And logic-based nightmares out of our myopia."
Outside the Citadel – Observation Dome
Rick C-237 stood before the clear dome of the observation room, twirling a drink in his hand, watching a thousand portals flash with updates.
He wasn't on the council any longer. He'd left years ago. Let Morty take it. Let the politics rot from within.
But now?
Now he was watching something worse than corruption. He was watching Zane rise.
Rick C-237 (whispering):
"You were meant to be one of us… not all of us combined."
Behind him, there was another Rick — a lean, tactical version named Strategist Rick-09.
Strategist Rick:
"Still think Morty's gonna keep this under control?"
Rick C-237:
"Morty's smarter than most of us.
But Zane's not interested in outsmarting. He's interested in outgrowing."
Strategist Rick raised an eyebrow.
Strategist Rick:
"So what, you think Zane's gonna come for the Citadel?"
Rick finished his drink.
"No.".
I think Zane's gonna hold out until we realize we've already been conquered.
Back at the Command Chamber
President Morty:
"This is not a preemptive strike offer. This is a containment order.
We are commencing Project Eclipse.
All Ricks in and out of Citadel jurisdiction will be flagged. Monitored. Pattern-mapped.
All cross-universal building sites — we shut them down.
All viral replication alert signals — we nuke them.
All clone worlds outside of known registries? We erase them.".
A murmur ran through the chamber.
Councilor Rick U-Delta:
"That's martial law across the Citadel, Morty. You're risking a rebellion."
President Morty:
"We don't need a rebellion.
We've already got a war. And we're losing it quietly."
Elsewhere – Zane's Observation Spire, Orbiting SR6
Inside a colossal tower made of coiled blackstone and starmetal, Zane stood overlooking the remains of Universe SR6. Below, nature-forged cities grew from ground and sky, guided by living AI.
Eris (projecting):
"Citadel activity has picked up. We are under observation by Council-level drones and mind-anchors."
Zane did not turn.
"Good. Let them take the measure of the cage.
The harder they try to contain me, the better they comprehend.
there's no outside to protect anymore."
Eris:
"Launch next campaign?"
"No.
Let the Citadel shake its foundations. Let Morty hesitate. Let Ricks question one another.
I want them immobilized by possibility.
The moment they move.
we drive home the impossibility of resistance."
Back at the Citadel – Last Moments of Chapter
President Morty stood alone in his quarters, looking out into the shifting riftwinds beyond the glass.
Morty (quietly):
"Zane. you're not just coming for us.
You're coming to show the whole multiverse what happens when evolution grows teeth."
He clenched his fist.
"Then let's see who bites first."