Morty was no longer the timid teenager who only trailed behind his grandpa. Quietly, he had been traveling between dimensions alone, cleaning up the messes left by their past adventures—this act of taking initiative hid resentment towards Rick's long-standing arbitrariness. When he returned to the garage, trying to "top up" the portal gun's fluid like refilling a whiskey glass, he made a fatal mistake: he substituted the specialized portal fluid with Mountain Dew. The green liquid spilled onto his hand, and a tiny portal quietly materialized in his palm.
Rick quickly caught wind of Morty's antics. The Mountain Dew contaminating the portal gun sent him into a rage. "Do you have any idea how toxic this stuff is? Daring to put this garbage in my portal fluid!" Rick's scolding was filled with impatience, and beneath it, disappointment in their partnership. To him, Morty would always be the bumbling sidekick who ruined everything. But Morty's long-suppressed grievances erupted in that moment: "You always say I'm replaceable—you never trusted me!" As the argument escalated, Rick made a shocking decision—he really was going to replace Morty. Using a roulette wheel with absurd options like "sentient poop," he "randomly" selected two ordinary crows and announced they would be his new adventure partners.
While Rick busily trained the crows to master combat skills like "rope-end slicing," the portal in Morty's palm suddenly stirred. A stranger's voice came from within. This man, named Nick, had an identical portal on his thigh. He claimed to be another victim of Rick's emotional abuse, and the two quickly bonded over their shared suffering through the portal. Nick painted a vivid picture of a free life away from Rick—exactly what Morty was craving. Fueled by spite towards Rick and longing for freedom, Morty resolutely decided to leave, heading to Nick's dimension to join him. An adventure of his own was about to begin.
Rick's adventures with the two crows were surprisingly smooth. The crows were not only intelligent and obedient, but their execution far surpassed Morty's—they could carry out Rick's every order with pinpoint accuracy, even transforming into capable assistants in dangerous moments. The trio traveled in the coolest spacecraft, equipped with top-tier weapons, and nothing stood in their way. Rick even mocked himself: "Adventures like this could wrap up an episode in ten seconds." Yet beneath the illusion of the "perfect partners" lay an emotional void Rick was deliberately avoiding. When they visited Bird Person's planet, Rick tried to brush off the Crow Aliens with "it was just a joke," but was immediately called out—after all, they had been the ones who taught Rick empathy, and such a perfunctory lie couldn't fool them.
Jerry accidentally stumbled upon Morty and Nick messing around in the garage. Instead of stopping his son's "rebellious behavior," he excitedly exclaimed: "Son, are you teaming up with weird strangers to mess with your grandpa's stuff? Count me in!" However, his eagerness to join in the fun quickly backfired. He accidentally shattered a magic crystal and was instantly transformed into a puddle of sentient water. Morty and Nick abandoned him without a second thought, and no one explained how he regained his human form by the end of the episode.
On the other side, Morty and Nick's "freedom adventure" quickly spiraled out of control. Nick's claims of being "hurt by Rick" were all lies—he was actually a fugitive who had failed to rob Rick, been hit by the portal gun, and locked in a mental asylum. Having regained his freedom, Nick's true nature emerged. To obtain more portal fluid for his own desires, he began ruthlessly harming innocent people. Morty gradually realized he had let a wolf into the fold. When he tried to escape, Nick immediately showed his vicious side, pinning him down on the railroad tracks in an attempt to kill him. In the nick of time, Morty displayed unprecedented resolve. He used an oncoming train to sever his left hand, which was coated in portal fluid, and threw the severed hand into the portal on Nick's thigh. The deactivated portal collapsed instantly, forming a singularity that swallowed Nick whole. Morty, relying on an engine and jetpack, endured excruciating pain to barely make his way home.
Rick's adventure was not without its troubles either. The crows were abducted by the Crow Aliens, who planned to transform them into true Crow People. Rick ventured into the enemy camp alone to rescue them, maintaining his cocky demeanor even when trapped—he even calmly answered a phone call. Just as he was facing certain death, the skills he had taught the crows came into play. The two crows broke free from their restraints, signaled Rick with the code "Birdquilluz," and cooperated with a sudden cannon appearing behind him to successfully break through. This rescue made Rick realize that even carefully chosen "replacements" formed fragile connections.
When Rick returned to Earth with the crows, he happened to encounter the injured Morty. He immediately rushed to treat Morty's wounds, using his technology to regrow his left hand. The two said nothing—their previous argument still echoed in their ears, but in that moment, there was more complex relief than anger. Morty took the initiative to suggest partnering up again, but Rick shook his head. He finally admitted that he had indeed treated Morty terribly, and their relationship was filled with unhealthy dependence and harm. "I'll always be your grandpa, but we shouldn't keep doing this," Rick said with a rare tone of sincerity.
As a farewell gift, Rick left the portal gun to Morty—the very thing Morty had always longed for. Yet holding it in his hands now, he felt no joy at all. Rick turned and walked towards his spacecraft, with the two crows perched on his shoulders. The three left the house without hesitation. Morty stood in the empty garage, clutching the portal gun, watching their departing figures, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He had finally obtained the freedom he had desired, only to find that this freedom was already etched with Rick's mark.