Author Notes:

I am so terribly sorry that I took so long to update this

I am well aware that Frank died in the first episode. I am just too lazy to make up a character

This chapter was originally supposed to be much much longer, but I figured the wait has been long enough. I promise the next chapter will be up as soon as possible. No slacking.

"Have a nice day at your new school," Candy called to her kids as they were heading out.

"Alright, mom."

"Whatever."

As soon as the door was shut, Drew and Ash exchanged glances; something they normally did. It was just a sibling thing. Ash set out in front with her brother just a step behind. They strolled along at a rather lazy pace. There was no point in rushing as their mother always made them leave 10 minutes before the bus arrival time, even though their stop was merely a block away.

"Don't do it," Drew said breaking the silence as they walked.

"Don't do what?" his sister responded, not even bothering to turn back and look at him.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. You do it at every school we go to."

"Well maybe I wouldn't if people wouldn't aggravate me."

"Everything aggravates you, Ash."

"Including you talking right now."

Drew couldn't help the disheartened sigh that left him. His sister was the single most difficult person he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. Despite her small and delicate appearance, she was cynical, reserved, and could have quite the ill temper.

"Look, mom's pissed enough about sending us to this school. I'm sure the last thing she'd want is for you to get suspended again for beating up some random idiot," he stated just as they arrived at the corner. Ash didn't respond so he assumed that his words had sunk in or maybe she was just ignoring him, he could never tell with her. They fell into a mutual silence as they waited for their bus.

Morty and Summer walked to the bus stop in silence, as they usually did, and were slightly surprised to see their neighbors were already there. Ash threw them a quick side glance, while Drew passed another small wave like before, but neither of them said anything. Morty and Summer couldn't help but take in their appearance; their uniformed attire and briefcases very different from the conventional clothing and backpacks they were used to seeing. They looked like they belonged to one of those expensive, uptight private schools, though they were sure their parents had mentioned that they'd all be going to the same school. The looks on their faces must've voiced their questions because Drew was quick to speak up.

"Our mom has very...specific taste."

"She's a spazzed-out control freak."

He threw Ash a scornful look as a warning, though he was sure it wasn't taken seriously.

"We're usually enrolled in private schools. This is actually our first time going to a public school. It's kinda weird switching schools in the middle of the year; me being in my senior year and Ash being a junior."

Summer and Morty almost found themselves gasping at the fact. Ash was a junior!? She was barely Morty's height, and her underdeveloped figure did nothing to support the fact.

"You're a junior?" Summer spoke with both question and disbelief.

Through her years of adolescence, Ash had lost count of how many times she had been mistaken for younger, but the annoyance of it never lessened. She absolutely despised her brevity. It gave her the appearance of a child, and having a brother that towers over you doesn't help. And if that wasn't enough she had the physique of a board. She'd never admit it, but these features made her feel rather ashamed, and one, being as testy as Ash, could only take so many times of mistaken age.

Drew stiffened, risking a glance over at his sister. Clenched jaw, balled fists, and a glare that defined death itself. He'd seen this before and knew exactly where it was going. One of her fist shot up, but he was quick to catch her wrist, straining against his sibling's unusual amount of strength. His anxious stare pleaded against her scowl. It was scene that was all too familiar for the both of them: Ash lashing out and Drew doing everything in his power to hold her back. They stayed this way until the bus arrived and Ash ripped away from Drew's grasp. She brushed past them without a word and sharply treaded up the bus steps. She took a seat and quickly threw her case into the spot next to her to deter anyone (her brother) from sitting there. Drew took the seat behind her and Morty and Summer behind him. He leaned over the seat and offered a sort of anxious smile.

"Don't worry. She's like this with everyone."

Cassi was ready to scream, but stifled it into a frustrated groan. She'd been to 3 other planets already and hadn't found anything even remotely close to the piece of technology she was looking for. Was a hydraulic ion stabilizer too much to ask for? Now she was perfectly capable of making such a device, but something that technologically complex would've taken months, even for her, and she really didn't have the time or patience, so she continued searching through the marketplace, irately making her way through the crowd of alien individuals and growing more and more irritated as she did. She'd occasionally stop at a stand if she saw any potential to provide her with what she wanted but ultimately walked away with nothing. A few more hours and she was reaching her limit. Between coming up empty-handed and being around as many beings as she was, Cassi was already in the process of pulling out her portal gun when she saw it. There it was, sitting in all it's glory, front and center of one of the market's stands: a hydraulic ion stabilizer. The sight was almost enough to make the scientist smile. She once again began making her way through the swarm, so intent on getting through that she didn't even notice the conflict that would shortly ensue.

She reached out for the device just in time to meet another hand.

Oh Hell No

Of all the planets, in all the systems, in all the dimensions, he had to be here. Cassi's momentary joy merging into pure loathing at the sight of the pointy blue-haired bastard she had come to detest, and with mutual feeling he returned her hateful stare. They both tightened their grip on the device, neither backing down anytime soon, and after the usual bout of banter and scorn things quickly turned more aggressive.

Completely disregarding the stand owner's alien cries, Rick and Cassi pulled the device back and forth, straining against each other for dominance, their glowers never leaving each other. The struggle was actually beginning to form a crowd, and a good amount of people had gathered around when the device suddenly slipped from Rick fingers sending Cassi backwards and the stabilizer flying from her own hands. They both watched in what felt like slow motion as it flew threw the air before colliding with the ground in a broken heap of parts.

"Look what you did!" Cassi yelled as she stood from the ground.

"What I did!? You were the one who threw it!"

"I didn't throw it. It slipped outta my hands because you let go!"

"So it's my fault you couldn't hold onto something! Uh, newsflash: you're a chick. Your hand-eye coordination just naturally sucks. "

And at that Cassi could no longer hold back her anger. For a whole week her family, along with the neighbors, had been holding her back in her disputes with Rick, but they weren't here to get in the way now. One punch sent Rick to the ground and in an instant she was on top of him to deliver more. She got a few more hits in before Rick sideswiped her in the head and pulled out his gun. She knocked it from his hands and sent it sliding somewhere into the crowd that had begun to scream and cheer at them, some even placing bets on a winner. Cassi pulled her own gun, but Rick caught her hand before she could fire. He slipped his finger between Cassi's and the trigger, and they both struggled against each other until a turn of wrists and slip of fingers resulted in a fired shot. The beam bolted right into the crowd, sending bystanders scattering to get out of the way, and finally found a victim, blasting his head clean off. The now headless corpse was adorned in an assortment of black leather, spiked jewelry, and emblems, similar to the garments of the aliens that were gathered around it. Their uneven amount of eyes turned to Rick and Cassi as they began to pull out weapons and mount hovering bikes.

"Aw shit," the scientists synced.

Drew gave a disgusted grimace at the plastic tray of food in front of him. He'd heard things about public school cafeteria food, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad. The soggy lump covered in grayish-brownish sauce was definitely living up to its title of 'Mystery Meat'. Snatching a jello cup, he made his way from the line and went to search for a seat. He scanned over the cafeteria, browsing every seat and table until he spotted the wavy black locks he'd been searching for. Setting off towards his sister he was more than a little surprised when he was halted by a human roadblock. A girl with red hair and green eyes stood in his path, a smile on her face as she made a rather seductive approach towards him.

"You're one of those private school kids, right?" She asked, her voice dripping with enticement.

This was new. Drew was surprised at such a leisurely approach. Hell. He was surprised at the approach at all. People, especially other students, didn't usually come up to him, at least not when he was at his other schools. So the sudden advance had very much caught him off guard. He couldn't even find the words to give her a response, but she didn't seem too discouraged by it.

"The uniform gave it away. So mature. So chique."

"So what school are you from?" Another girl interjected, coming up and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Was it from out of the country?" Came another girl.

Drew stuttered out a mess of words as he tried to make his way past them, but before he knew it he was being dragged to a table by a hoard of girls and guys, who could only be classified as 'the popular kids'.

Morty heaved out a sigh at the scene. Drew had only been here for the time span of the first few class periods and he was already more popular than he was. Was the reputation of private schooling really that alluring? And speaking of private schooling… Morty's eyes trailed over the students before coming to Ash. She sat in a far corner of the cafeteria and wore the usual disinterested stare as she shoveled a spoonful of fruit into her mouth. She was all alone, and while she didn't look at all bothered by the fact, Morty just couldn't shake the feeling of how wrong the sight looked. Maybe he was just used to seeing her with Drew, but either way his feet had already begun moving towards her.

"Hey, this seat taken?" Morty gave an awkward smile, but was only offered an unwavered expression in return.

Well it technically wasn't rejection.

Morty slid into the seat across from her and ineptly played around with the food on his tray, not really sure of what to say or two had never really had any direct interactions before the little incident that morning, and that didn't exactly seem to be shaping a path to friendship. Not to mention the fact that Morty was somewhat scared of her. She was obviously a lot stronger than she looked and had a glare that could freeze hell over, which helped her to carry the intimidating tone that she did.

"So um… How do you like public school?"

Ash glanced up from her tray and glanced back down, only scooping a few more mouthfuls of food. She stayed silent for a while, and Morty had thought she wasn't going to give a response.

"It's, in a word, mediocre. More than half the lockers are busted, school supplies are shabby, and the teachers can't teach for crap. It's no wonder why our mom didn't wanna send us here."

Morty was a little taken aback; less by what she said and more by how much she said. That was the most he'd heard Ash say in one sitting. She obviously wasn't much of a talker, so hearing her say so much was a bit of a change, and oddly enough gave Morty a sort of happy feeling. A small smile etched onto his face, only to be wiped away as he glanced over at another table. Before he could help it a saddened sigh fell from his lips and caught Ash's attention. Morty was staring over her shoulder, so she turned to see what had him so dejected. It was her turn to be taken aback now. There was her brother, smooshed in with some rather hormonal-looking teenagers and looking very uncomfortable. For a brief moment their gazes met and Drew sent a pleading look to her, mouthing the words 'Help Me' as one of the guys slung a muscular arm over his shoulders and locked him in a rather awkward-looking hug. Ash cocked a brow, but made no attempt at moving from her seat.

"Don't worry. None of those girls have a chance with him," she said taking another bite of food.

"Really? Because I wouldn't be able to tell from what I'm seeing right now."

"Trust me. My brother may be what girls consider 'handsome', but he's not that kind of guy; couldn't be if he wanted to. Drew's too socially awkward."

Hearing the words, Morty was able to regain the remanence of his smile. He honestly hadn't expected any such reassurance, especially not from Ash. She was actually doing something other than scowling at him. Maybe she was warming up to him.

"So what about you?" Morty asked.

"What about me?" She frowned, a hint of menace in her tone.

Maybe not.

Suddenly Morty's hair was roughly yanked and the blade of a knife dug against the skin of his neck. The familiar face of Frank Policky glowered down at him as he dished out a string of misplaced threats and insults, pushing the knife into Morty's neck, threatening to break skin. Morty attempted to argue against his bully's deranged menace, but the words failed him. His eyes inadvertently began to water and tears threatened to fall, as he glanced over to Ash hoping she'd provide some type of salvation, but she looked as if she hadn't even noticed the scene that was playing out right in front of her. She hadn't even looked up from her tray and was eating as though nothing was happening.

Being bullied was nothing new to Morty. It happened on a regular basis, with the usual beating, emotional or physical, being the end result. The students around would usually turn a blind eye to such public abuse, either too insensitive to care or too scared to step in and this time wasn't much different, but Morty couldn't help the slight twinge of hurt he felt as he watched the black-haired girl eat. It's not like they were friends, he couldn't even say they were acquaintances, but for some reason he hadn't expected such familiar neglect, at least not from her. She hadn't turned him down from the table nor made any attempt to move away from him; she'd actually made an effort to talk to him when he talked to her; she'd even made him smile with her reassurance. She obviously didn't totally loathe his existence, yet there she sat completely unaffected and not even offering a glance his way. He couldn't believe it. Was she really just going to sit there and ignore this? Morty was ripped from his focus with another jerk to his hair and the grimace on Frank's face growing darker. That was it, Morty was done for. So caught up in his moments to demise he didn't notice Ash stand up and empty her tray into a nearby trashcan. She walked back over, coming behind Frank, before brutally bringing her tray down across the back of his head, which shortly after hit the green-tiled floors with echoing thud that made the whole cafeteria go silent. Everyone had stopped their actions and trained their eyes on the commotion. Frank lay on the ground with a good-sized gash on the back of his head, a few droplets of blood were now plastered on the floor as well as the tray still in Ash's hand. Morty had been shocked into silence at her attack, and stood with a facial expression that read both confusion and awe.

"What?" She asked clearly unbothered, "I wasn't finished. I wasn't going to hit him with food still on my tray."