The 39th Iteration
(looks up): "Is that why Dad's chair keeps moaning?"
The kitchen chair whimpers softly.
The ship flying directly into a pink void, Morty screaming, Rick laughing, and the number 39 burning like a brand on the moon behind them.
"That's… that's really dark, Rick."
"Neither. We skip ." He slams the device on the table. "This is a Prime-Jumper. We're gonna jump directly to the 40th iteration. Skip the 39th entirely. Like changing the channel during a commercial for a medication that gives you explosive diarrhea."
pauses. He looks almost somber.
"That's math, Morty. Don't get emotional about integers." He pulls a lever. The room stretches like taffy.
"It's not lucky, Morty! It's prime . Primes are unstable. When reality hits a prime iteration, the fabric gets… tweaky. Last time this happened, my left testicle briefly became a sentient black hole that only spoke Esperanto." Rick And Morty --39-LINK--39-
"We are the 39th. The jump failed. We're the ones holding the line. And the deletion wave is…" He checks his watch. "Three minutes away."
"Wait. Rick… where's our cereal? And why does this fridge have a drawing of a snail with a top hat?" The 39th Iteration (looks up): "Is that why