Chapter 15: Shadows on the Horizon

The hum of the extractor still resonated in my hand, even as I drifted further from the planet. I had successfully pulled the knowledge I needed from the dinosaurs, but the close call with the Citadel had left me on edge. They were getting closer, too close. My ship, cloaked and silent, slipped through the void of space, but I knew they wouldn't stop searching.

I sat back in my chair, staring at the neural extractor, the device now holding the memories of an entire species. The dinosaurs' intellect, their advancements, and their arrogance were all in there, neatly packaged and waiting to be dissected. I should've been proud of myself, but there was something unsettling about how quickly the Citadel had picked up on my presence. I'd underestimated them. It wouldn't happen again.

I set the extractor aside and pulled up the ship's internal scans. The modifications I'd made were good, but they weren't enough. I needed more power, more control. The dinosaurs' technology was impressive, but I knew it wouldn't hold up against the relentless hunt that was coming my way. The Citadel wasn't going to stop until they had me in their sights, and that meant I had to be prepared for anything.

I could feel the memories itching at the back of my mind, the overwhelming flood of knowledge begging to be absorbed. But I couldn't afford to let my guard down yet. The extractor could wait. The Citadel wouldn't.

I needed to move, to regroup, to build.

....

At the Citadel, the tension had only grown.

"We lost the signal again," one of the Ricks muttered angrily, slamming his fist on the console. The holographic display flickered, showing a rough estimate of my last known position, but it was already too late. I had slipped through their grasp once more.

"How does he keep doing this?" another Rick asked, frustration creeping into his voice. "We've never had this much trouble tracking someone down before."

Evil Morty stood at the back of the room, his arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold with cold calculation. He knew better than to underestimate me now. Jerry, an anomaly in the multiverse, sure, but one that had managed to outwit more than one Rick. That was no small feat.

"He's smart," Evil Morty finally said, his voice cutting through the chatter. "Smarter than you think. But he's also desperate. That's why we're close."

One of the senior Ricks frowned, turning to face him. "What do you suggest we do, then? We've tried every scanner, every tracker. If we can't locate him, how do we catch him?"

Evil Morty's smirk widened. "We don't need to find him. We let him make the next move."

The other Ricks exchanged uneasy glances. Letting me make the next move sounded risky, but they knew Morty had a point. I was clever, but I couldn't stay hidden forever. The Citadel had resources, time, and patience. Eventually, I would slip up.

And when I did, they'd be ready.

....

Back on my ship, I set course for a distant, uninhabited system. I needed time to think, to strategize. I wasn't going to let the Citadel push me into a corner. Not again. The knowledge I'd gained from the dinosaurs was vast, but it was fragmented. They were brilliant, yes, but their memories were scattered, incomplete. I could feel the missing pieces, the gaps in their understanding.

It was frustrating.

But it also meant I was closer. Closer to something bigger, something that would put me beyond the reach of even the most powerful Ricks in the multiverse.

I activated the ship's internal cloaking system, slipping into the shadows of space. For now, I was invisible. The Citadel wouldn't find me, not until I was ready. I needed to finish what I had started, to take the knowledge, the power, and become more than just a rogue anomaly.

I was building something they couldn't stop.

....

At the Citadel, Rick C-137 paced impatiently in the Council chamber, his flask dangling loosely from his hand. The Ricks around him were in a frenzy, trying to make sense of the data, but he wasn't convinced they were doing anything useful.

"Jerry's not gonna be caught by your usual crap," Rick muttered, taking a long swig. "He's learning, adapting. Huhhhp, you keep chasing him with the same old tricks, and he's just gonna keep slipping through."

One of the Council Ricks turned, glaring. "And what do you suggest, C-137? You think you've got a better plan?"

Rick shrugged. "Maybe. Huhhhp, maybe not. But if you really want to catch him, you need to think like him. You need to stop treating this like it's a standard op. This is personal for Jerry. You don't get that. I do."

The room fell silent. They all knew Rick C-137 had a complicated history with his own Jerry, but hearing him speak like this was unnerving. He wasn't usually this serious about anything.

Evil Morty, standing in the shadows, watched Rick closely, his eyes narrowing. He knew there was more to Rick C-137's motivations than he was letting on. The two had tangled before, and Morty had learned never to take him lightly.

But this time, it wasn't about Rick. It was about me.

"Let him run," Rick C-137 said, his voice quieter now. "He'll come to us. And when he does, huhhhp, we'll be ready."

....

Back in the void of space, I stared at the stars, the extractor still humming beside me. I had what I needed to push forward. But there was more to this than just survival now.

I wasn't just hiding from the Citadel.

I was preparing to face them head-on.

The dinosaurs had given me the knowledge I needed to outsmart them, to stay one step ahead, but now I needed something more. Something powerful enough to not just evade them, but to crush them.

I clenched my fist, feeling the weight of what was coming.

They thought they were chasing me. But I was laying the groundwork for something bigger.

Let them come.