"WHY IS THE OVEN JUMPING?!" Amy screamed, ducking behind the bench.
"It's supposed to do that." Emma said reassuringly. "...I think."
The oven gave a violent rattle, followed by an ominous CLUNK that made both girls jump.
Emma yelped and darted behind the kitchen island. "AMY. IT HICCUPED."
Amy scrambled to her feet and took a cautious step forward. "Okay okay okay, let's not panic—"
The oven let out a low, mechanical groan like it was waking up from a thousand-year nap.
"...Too late," Emma squeaked.
Blackie strolled into the kitchen with the swagger of a feline who'd seen far too much chaos to care anymore. "Alright, who gave the oven an existential crisis?"
Emma pointed a trembling finger. "We were trying to bake cupcakes."
Amy nodded quickly. "Mia's birthday ones! With the filling and the sparkles and the—why is it still making that sound?!"
The oven thudded again, followed by a high-pitched wheeeeze. Something inside glowed faintly purple.
Blackie's tail puffed. "Oh, no. You didn't use the lavender extract from the top shelf, did you?"
Emma blinked. "...Yes?"
Amy added, "It said 'extra flavor' on the label."
Blackie facepawed. "That was Mia's experimental Legendary Berry Essence. It's infused with residual energy from The Merge."
Emma went pale. "...So we're baking in a time-warped space oven?!"
Blackie hopped onto the counter with a resigned sigh. "Basically."
A FLASH of light burst from the oven door, and with a zap and a pop, one of the cupcakes disappeared.
Amy gasped. "It just—!"
Emma pointed wildly. "IT TELEPORTED!"
A second cupcake vanished with a dramatic POOF, leaving behind a tiny sparkle cloud and a faint smell of cinnamon.
Blackie flicked his tail. "Yeah. That batch's gone. Probably floating around the Netherspace somewhere."
Amy turned to Emma, eyes wide. "What do we do?!"
Emma hesitated. "...Call Annie?"
Blackie shook his head. "She's at Tai Chi with Mia. Phones off."
Emma's hand hovered over the counter. "...Okay. Plan B?"
Amy looked around. "Panic?"
"Sounds good," Emma said quickly. "I'm very qualified for that."
Blackie groaned. "You two are hopeless. Fine. Move aside. I'll deactivate the oven before it destabilizes the kitchen into a singularity."
Emma blinked. "Wait—you know how to do that?!"
"I'm a talking cat, Emma," Blackie said flatly. "You think I don't know how to shut down a cosmic cupcake anomaly?"
Amy stared. "...Okay but why do you know that."
Blackie didn't answer. He just padded toward the oven, muttering under his breath. "Should've stayed in the sunbeam today..."
