The newly fused Reality Core pulsed gently on the kitchen counter, its gelatinous surface catching the light in a way that made it look suspiciously like a giant, cosmic gummy bear. Yamete poked it experimentally with a spatula he'd found floating nearby. It jiggled.
"...We saved reality with candy."
GLich-chan floated closer, her glow reflecting off the core's sticky surface. "Technically, it's a hyper-concentrated nexus of cosmic energy that just happens to resemble confectionery."
Gary gasped loudly enough to suck in a nearby dish towel. "Does this mean we get to eat it?"
Before anyone could stop him, he lunged forward—only for the Really Big Spoon to intercept him with a resounding bonk to his lid.
"USER 'GARY' ATTEMPTING UNAUTHORIZED CONSUMPTION. DEPLOYING COUNTERMEASURES."
What followed was a slapstick chase around the kitchen, with Gary dodging the spoon's attempts to "re-educate" him (which mostly involved aggressive tapping on his rim) while Yamete and GLich-chan debated what to do with their gelatinous prize.
"We could use it to fix Glitchvale's glitches," GLich-chan suggested, watching as Gary tripped over a rogue potato and went skidding into a stack of mixing bowls.
Yamete eyed the core's unnatural sheen. "Or we could accidentally turn everything into gummy versions of themselves. Remember what happened with the rubber ducks?"
Their discussion was interrupted by a weak groan from the corner. Sigma was coming around, his chef's hat now comically crumpled from the spoon's earlier attack. He blinked blearily at the scene before him—Gary pinned under the spoon like an overturned turtle, the glowing gummy core, Cleaver weeping quietly into a dishcloth that kept trying to comfort him.
"...Why does my head feel like it got used as a mixing bowl?" Sigma mumbled.
The spoon immediately zoomed over and hovered threateningly. "USER 'SIGMA' REGAINING CONSCIOUSNESS. PROTOCOL 'NOPE' ENGAGED."
Sigma yelped and scrambled backward, only to trip over his own whisk. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
Gary finally managed to right himself with a metallic clang. "That's my arch-nemesis! Well, one of them. I have a list."
As Sigma tried to process this (while also attempting to shield himself with a colander), the gummy core suddenly lurched on the counter. A deep, resonant thrum pulsed through the kitchen, sending ripples across every liquid surface—including The Soup, which bubbled ominously.
GLich-chan's eyes widened. "Uh. Guys? I think it's—"
FWOOOORP.
The core stretched upward like taffy, forming a wobbling tower that reached nearly to the ceiling before—
SPLORTCH.
It exploded.
Not violently, but enthusiastically, sending globs of glowing gelatin everywhere. Yamete ducked as a particularly large chunk sailed over his head and splattered against the wall, where it immediately began growing.
"...Is it supposed to do that?" Yamete asked, watching as the blob developed what looked like tiny arms and legs.
GLich-chan floated closer to inspect it—only for the mini-core to lunge at her face with a disturbing squeak. She barely dodged in time. "NOPE. DEFINITELY NOT."
Across the kitchen, similar scenes were unfolding. The gummy shards were replicating, each new blob developing its own unsettling level of sentience. One had already commandeered a floating frying pan and was using it as a makeshift surfboard across The Soup's surface. Another was attempting to wear Sigma's hat (much to his dismay).
Gary, meanwhile, was locked in a tense standoff with three smaller cores that had surrounded him like particularly jiggly muggers. "Back off! I'm not sharing my secret snack stash!"
Cleaver let out a noise that was half sob, half hysterical laughter. "The cosmic balance... it's... it's gummy bears now."
The largest remaining chunk of the original core (now roughly the size of a beach ball) wobbled to the center of the room. Then, with a sound like a thousand whoopee cushions being sat on simultaneously, it split open—revealing a swirling portal filled with shifting colors.
GLich-chan's debug sensors went wild. "That's... that's a reality tear. A stable one."
Yamete stared at the pulsing gateway, then at the multiplying gummy creatures (one of which was now attempting to mate with a toaster), then at Sigma—who had given up entirely and was rocking in the fetal position while murmuring about "the horror."
"So," Yamete said slowly. "Do we... go in?"
THWACK.
The Really Big Spoon suddenly smacked the back of his head—not hard enough to hurt, but with enough force to send him stumbling forward—
—right into the portal.
Gary's distant "WAIT FOR MEEEE—" was the last thing Yamete heard before the world dissolved into rainbow taffy.