Chapter 4: "The Snuffles Gambit"

The house was quiet—too quiet. The hum of the TV echoed from the living room, punctuated by the occasional laughter from Jerry. Morty shook his head, trying to block out the image of his clueless family, blissfully unaware of the absurdity and danger creeping around them.

His fingers tightened around the straps of his bag holding his newly acquired freeze gun. He wasn't like Rick, reckless and uncaring. Morty had a different kind of drive—more focused. In this world of limitless possibilities, that was his only weapon. And as much as he hated to admit it, he'd need to traverse the universe with rick in order to gain enough power to defend against anything and meet new powerful beings who could help him like unity or ice T.

He knew the timeline. He knew what came next. That collar, the one Rick had slapped onto Snuffles only hours ago. The collar that was going to make Snuffles far more than just a cute, dumb pet. And Morty had already seen what happened next—the dog with a brain the size of a planet, leading an army of enraged, hyper-intelligent dogs. Morty had already failed once to prevent it from happening now he'd need to deal with the consequences.

but it wasn't all bad. with Snuffles potentially taking off the collar himself, it'll give me the chance to obtain the ability to learn quicker and faster, a necessity for what was to come.

As Morty crept down the hallway, past the living room where Jerry was still glued to the TV, he felt the pull of the unknown ahead of him. The air felt thick with tension, like the calm before a storm. He couldn't shake the feeling that everything was about to change. But that was fine. Change was inevitable in Rick's world. It was how you adapted that mattered.

Out the back door, Morty moved with quiet urgency, taking care to keep out of sight. The lawn stretched out before him, where Snuffles had been just a few minutes ago. Morty's mind raced with the possible outcomes, running through different scenarios in his head. The collar would eventually empower Snuffles, but would it be enough? Would Snuffles realize his potential quickly enough, or would Morty be stuck cleaning up the mess Rick had created?

He spotted Snuffles in the distance, rolling around in the grass as though nothing had changed, his tail wagging in pure joy. For a moment he hesitated, but Morty had no time for that. He had no time for emotions when the world was at stake.

"Snuffles," Morty muttered softly, walking closer, eyes flicking from side to side. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to make sure of it."

But Morty wasn't naïve. He knew he had to act fast. The dog was still under the collar's influence, and Rick would surely notice if Snuffles wasn't showing signs of intelligence soon. Morty had to get ahead of it. He wasn't ready to fight Snuffles yet—not in his current state. Morty wasn't sure he'd survive it if the dog snapped.

Just stay calm, Morty reminded himself. No mistakes. I can do this.

Reaching the edge of the yard, Morty crouched down behind a bush, peering through the branches. Snuffles, still wagging his tail, hadn't noticed him yet. This was it—the perfect moment. Morty pulled the freeze ray from his bag, holding it with both hands as he lined up his shot.

Without hesitating, he fired.

A blast of freezing energy shot forward, hitting Snuffles square in the chest. The dog's tail froze mid-wag, and his body stiffened, trapped in an icy shell. Morty exhaled slowly, the weight of the moment finally sinking in. He had done it. Snuffles was frozen—incapacitated for now.

But it wasn't enough to just freeze him. Morty knew that collar had to come off before Snuffles could fully transform, before Rick could turn the dog into a mindless weapon. With the freeze ray tucked back into his bag, Morty moved toward the dog's frozen form, his hands shaking slightly with anticipation.

"Come on," he muttered to himself. "Just a little bit more…"

Kneeling beside Snuffles, Morty carefully grabbed the collar, his fingers trembling as he felt the faint hum of its power. The collar was a simple thing, but the technology behind it was far beyond anything Morty could comprehend. It was dangerous—he could feel it vibrating with latent power. He wasn't sure how much longer Snuffles would stay frozen, but it was too risky to waste time.

Then an idea struck Morty, and his heart skipped a beat. Instead of just removing the collar and leaving Snuffles potentially vulnerable to Rick's wrath, why not make a fake collar? Something that would throw Rick off the scent, while allowing Morty to keep the real collar for himself.

With a steadying breath, Morty slipped the collar off Snuffles' neck, then put it around his wrist loosly. It was heavier than it looked, but that was the least of his worries. With the sudden clarity in his mind he realized he needed something to make it look like the collar was still on the dog.

Looking around in a hurry, Morty spotted a bunch of old scraps of metal and wire lying near the edge of the yard. His mind raced, pulling together pieces of makeshift technology Rick had left behind—he could build something quickly. Something crude, but enough to fool Rick.

Morty gathered the materials and started working, the clock ticking away in his head. With quick hands, he twisted and bent the wires into a circular shape, wrapping them around a discarded piece of plastic. It was imperfect—definitely not as sophisticated as the collar that had been on Snuffles—but it would have to do. Morty didn't have time to be meticulous. He affixed the fake collar around Snuffles' neck and stepped back, looking over the work with a sense of grim satisfaction.

The collar looked almost identical from a distance. The lights were fake, the technology on the surface mimicked the real collar, but it lacked the true power. Morty quickly positioned Snuffles' frozen form in a more natural position, hoping the dog's still form would convince anyone who looked that nothing had changed.

This will work', Morty thought. It has to.

With the fake collar securely in place, Morty stood up, taking one last look at Snuffles. The dog was frozen in place, but Morty couldn't afford to linger. He had to get back inside the house before anyone noticed his absence.

He turned and made his way back to the door, but as he did, a sudden voice broke through the quiet air, causing his heart to freeze in his chest.

"M-Morty?"

It was Jerry, standing in the doorway, a confused look on his face.

Morty quickly hid the collar behind his back and straightened up. His hands were shaking, his nerves on edge, but he forced himself to speak with confidence.

"Uh, hey, Jerry. Just… just checking on Snuffles," Morty said, offering a shaky smile. "He's, uh, fine. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You know, after everything that's been happening."

Jerry narrowed his eyes but didn't seem to suspect anything. "Alright, Morty. Well, I'm sure Rick has it all under control."

"Yeah, totally," Morty agreed, already backing away. "I'll go inside now. Just, uh, checking on Snuffles."

As he retreated back into the house, Morty could feel his heart still pounding. He had done it. He had outsmarted both Snuffles and Rick—at least for now. The fake collar would buy him time, but Morty knew the real battle was just beginning. Keeping the truth from Rick was going to be harder than he thought knowing he had tuned the intelligence up on snuffles by a lot, but if Morty could gain even a fraction of the power Snuffles had now, he would have the tools to protect himself—and maybe even take control of his own destiny in a universe that never stopped shifting beneath his feet.

For now, though, Morty was going to have to keep up the charade. And that meant pretending like nothing had changed.

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A couple of hours had passed since Morty removed the collar from Snuffles, and the silence in the house had started to weigh on him. He sat on the edge of his bed, glancing nervously at the collar on his wrist. The real one, subtling influencing him despite just being attached recently 

And with that influence Morty couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a sharp, frantic bark from the backyard. Morty's head snapped up, his blood running cold. This wasn't the joyful, harmless bark from before. It was full of authority and aggression—completely different from the playful dog he knew.

"Crap," Morty muttered under his breath, rising from his bed and heading toward the window.

Outside, he saw Snuffles, his fur slick and bristling, standing tall in the middle of the yard. His eyes glowed an unnatural blue, and his tail was straight and rigid. But something else caught Morty's attention—Snuffles wasn't alone. The dog had strapped some sort of high-tech weaponry onto his back, a set of laser turrets and a small jetpack, making him look more like a military general than a family pet.

Morty's stomach dropped.

"No… No, no, no," he mumbled, realizing the full extent of his mistake. The collar had empowered Snuffles far more than he anticipated. He had taken the collar off, but not before it had already unlocked the dog's potential. And now Snuffles had armed himself with tech—likely scavenged from Rick's junk pile—turning the lovable pet into a one-dog army.

Morty's heart raced as Snuffles began marching toward the back door, his new tech humming to life. The sound of the jetpack's low hum filled the air, signaling that Snuffles wasn't just a threat—he was a fully equipped one.

"Snuffles, stop!" Morty shouted as he rushed down the hallway, but it was too late.

The door burst open with a loud bang, and Snuffles entered the house with chilling precision. His eyes locked onto Jerry first, who was still sitting on the couch, oblivious to the danger creeping into the room.

"Guys!" Morty shouted, running into the living room. "Get away from him!"

But before he could reach them, Snuffles had already activated the laser turrets on his back. The first shot rang out with a loud crack, narrowly missing Jerry but leaving a scorched mark on the wall next to him.

"Whoa whoa! What the hell?" Jerry yelped, diving to the ground, but Snuffles wasn't done.

With a growl, the dog aimed the jetpack and soared toward the ceiling, using the height to get a better shot. The lasers fired again, this time hitting the couch where Summer had been sitting, causing the fabric to singe and burn.

"Snuffles, stop!" Morty screamed, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead. He looked at his family—panic written on their faces, confusion in their eyes—as Snuffles continued his attack. They had no idea what was happening.

Snuffles darted toward the kitchen, avoiding a shot from Jerry, who was scrambling to find some kind of weapon. The dog's technology had turned him into an efficient, dangerous being. Morty could see the cold calculation in Snuffles' eyes now. It wasn't just the dog he had once known. This was something else—something far more dangerous.

"Dad, move!" Morty yelled as Snuffles turned toward the kitchen, eyeing Jerry as his next target. But Morty knew there was no time for words now.

With a desperate, calculated move, Morty grabbed the ray gun and shot at Snuffles., barely missing due to lack of experience

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted, trying to distract the dog long enough to get close.

It worked. Snuffles, momentarily distracted by the blast flying through the air, turned his attention to Morty. Morty had no choice, before its to late he needed to defeat Snuffles

As Snuffles growled, Morty rushed forward, aiming for the jetpack. He dodge the incoming laser clumsily and grabbed hold of his jetpack, pulling the dog back to the ground with all his strength. The turrets whizzed above his head, but Morty kept his grip firm.

"Snuffles, stop! You're still my dog, I know you are!" Morty shouted at the hyper intelligent being.

Just as the dog began to squirm free, Morty pulled out the freeze ray, quickly flicking it on and firing at snuffles 'you would've been a good addition to my team if you weren't so hell bent on killing everyone' morty thought the moment he pulling the trigger, and Snuffles froze..

The house fell silent.

Jerry and Summer looked around, stunned, as Morty stood over Snuffles, chest heaving.

"Is he, Is he okay?" Summer asked, her voice shaky.

Morty swallowed hard. "I… I think so."

He glanced at the fake collar still on the frozen figure lying motionless on the floor. The damage had been done, and Morty knew it. There was no going back now. But at least for the moment, Snuffles was no longer a threat.