A week had passed since Isaac had an ice bath to save his life. And true to his word, the Demon made no attempts to take over. It was a Friday evening, and Isaac and Lily were still talking about how Lily's school was going. And this time, Lily was much happier learning in the school than she did in the Children's Quarters.

"Yeah, they actually let us… be kids! The teachers don't talk down to us, they let us draw in class! And Ms. Horanze says that we'll be going on a field trip to the Station Square library. She says it's more than two hundred years old!" Lily detailed, summarizing her day at school. Isaac smiled, feeling that Lily enjoying herself was enough for him.

As they talked, Sally opened the fridge, pulling out a small cake. She put it on the table, getting Lily's and Isaac's attention.

"Ooh, that looks good!" Isaac observed, smacking his lips. Lily smiled, not remembering the last time she had cake before! Sally smiled, seeing the look in their eyes.

"Just wait until you try it! I've been working on this recipe for days! G.U.N. allowed me to use the kitchen they have at the law firm building. I can't wait for you guys to try it!" Sally said, cutting it in half. She put them onto plates for them, giving them forks.

"Aren't you having any?" Isaac asked. Sally shook her head.

"I haven't been feeling too good. Especially in the mornings. I don't think I need to add cake to what I'm eating to make myself feel worse." Sally answered.

Shrugging their shoulders, Isaac and Lily got a piece off their slices, shoving it into their mouths. As they began chewing, Isaac and Lily slowed down, their excitement replaced with a bitter, terrible taste in their mouths.

"Well? How is it?" Sally asked, hopeful. Isaac and Lily swallowed, feeling the taste travel down their throats.

"Well, there's no doubt about it… that's a cake." Isaac said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Lily quickly nodded, showing she agreed with Isaac.

"Yeah, you… can't get cake like that in the store!" Lily added. Sally hopped a bit in place, showing she was excited!

"Oh, I'm so glad you guys like it! The thing is, I accidentally made too much cake batter, so I went and made them into cupcakes! I have about four dozen cupcakes in the freezer!" Sally said. Isaac and Lily's jaws dropped, not believing what they were hearing!

"Forty-eight cupcakes?!" They exclaimed. Sally excitedly nodded.

"Yep! Now, whenever you guys want something sweet, there will always be something for you!" Sally said, walking over to the counter, grabbing her mailbox keys.

"Hey guys, I'll be right back! I'm just going to go grab the mail. Enjoy!" She said, leaving the apartment. The moment she closed the door and her footsteps led away from the door, Lily and Isaac grabbed their plates, looking around the kitchen!

"Quick, where do we drop them?" Lily asked, having the same idea as Isaac.

"The trashcan!" Isaac suggested, walking over to it. Lily stopped him, shaking her head.

"No! That's the first place she would find it! It would break her heart!" Lily said. Isaac nodded his head, putting his plate back onto the table.

"Well, we gotta figure something out! How the hell does someone make a cake taste like that? Chocolate cake isn't supposed to be like that!" Isaac asked, the bitter taste still lingering.

"That's not the worst of it! You heard her! Forty-eight cupcakes! And I don't think we can force ourselves to eat one of those things every day!" Lily explained.

"24 days. That's 24 days I'm not looking forward to." Isaac said.

"Not to mention, we have to face the fact that Sally's going to make more of these! If she sees us eating these things so fast, she'll feel the need to make us more of these things!" Lily explained.

Isaac groaned, feeling torn! He didn't want to hurt the feelings of his spouse, but he didn't want to live in a future where these cupcakes were waiting for him! And he knew they would be around for a while, considering they were in the freezer!

"Wait! What about your school? Kids pretty much eat anything, right?" Isaac asked. Lily sported a look of disgust, shaking her head.

"Yeah, but there're better ways of getting suspended." Lily responded. Isaac sat back down, not knowing what to do. But soon, he heard the elevator going up outside of the hallway, indicating Sally was getting closer.

"Quick! We need to get some of this down!" Isaac said, grabbing a chunk with his hand and stuffing it down his throat! Lily quickly followed, the bitter cake passing down her throat! Soon, their plates were clean, only a few crumbs left! Their door opened, Sally coming in with a few envelopes.

"Man, you guys made short work out of that cake! If that's how you guys will be eating the cupcakes, I might have to make more soon!" Sally commented. Isaac and Lily silently groaned, bringing up the very topic of their conversation.

"Yeah… maybe." Isaac responded.

A few hours had passed, Sally deciding to retire early for the night. Isaac and Lily stayed up, formulating a plan.

"I just can't understand how Sally could think these things are good!" Lily whispered.

"Well, I guess it's like how a lot of people think. They think all because something is homemade, it's better than what you can get in the store." Isaac surmised.

"But cake from the store would be better than this! A hundred times better!" Lily quietly shouted. Suddenly, Isaac's eyes lit up, getting an idea!

"Lily, you just had a brilliant idea!" Isaac reacted.

"What idea?" She asked.

"We're more or less bound to eat the cupcakes in the freezer, right? Now, if they were good old store cupcakes, we could eat them." Isaac said.

"But they're not good old store cupcakes. They're bad old home cupcakes." Lily returned.

"We'll just turn them into store cupcakes." Isaac revealed.

"How?" Lily asked.

"We'll get four dozen cupcakes from the store when Sally's at the law firm building and replace them in the freezer, so we don't hurt her feelings!" Isaac answered. Lily began nodding, getting the picture, but then she frowned.

"But what do we do with the cupcakes we replace?" Lily asked. Isaac wagged his finger, winking.

"You just leave that to me! Now, Monday morning, we perform 'Operation: Bake and Switch'." Isaac proclaimed, high-fiving Lily.

And just like that, the weekend passed away into the weekday, Sally making sure she had everything for 'work'. Isaac and Lily were waiting for her to leave, knowing this plan couldn't take off without her gone.

"You sure you two can manage without me?" Sally asked, joking. Isaac and Lily nodded, knowing they would be just fine. Sally walked over to Lily, bending down, and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sally said, before moving onto Isaac. She placed her hands on his shoulders, kissing him lovingly. She soon broke it, looking into his eyes. She leaned closer to his ear, whispering.

"And speaking of which, make sure you get Lily a gift for her birthday coming up." Sally whispered, grabbing her briefcase, and leaving. As soon as Isaac heard the doors of the elevator close, Isaac and Lily rushed to the kitchen, opening the freezer. Isaac began putting the cupcakes into a garbage bag, making sure to layer it with actual trash to make it less conspicuous. As soon as it was full, Isaac and Lily left the apartment, going down the stairs to throw it out.

With a quick heave, Isaac tossed the bag into the dumpster, the frozen cakes making a loud thud.

"Alright, to the supermarket!" Isaac said, grabbing Lily's hand and jogging to it. After a few minutes, Isaac and Lily raided the bakery section, grabbing four dozen cupcakes that looked almost exactly the same as Sally's.

"Do you think she'll notice?" Isaac asked, studying them. Lily shook her head, putting them into the cart.

"If she does, we'll just say them being in the freezer made them look different after a while." Lily answered. Isaac gave a thumbs up, pushing the cart to the checkout counter.

After checking out and running back to the apartment, Isaac and Lily stocked the freezer with the cupcakes, making sure everything was how it looked before they enacted 'Operation: Bake and Switch'. With a sigh of relief, they flopped onto the couch, the tainted baked goods out of their lives.

"And the world breathes a collective sigh of relief." Lily said, turning on the television. As they sat there, Isaac had something on his mind.

"Hey… aren't you supposed to be at school?" Isaac asked. Lily shook her head.

"We have the day off today." Lily answered. Isaac began nodding his head, believing he heard that during the weekend.

Later that day:

Isaac and Sally were at the table, eating some of the cupcakes for dessert. As Sally was putting dishes away from the sink, she saw them taking large bites out of the cupcakes, smiling as they chewed. Sally walked over to the freezer, opening it. She took out one of the cupcakes, holding it in her hand.

"You know, I think I need to try one of these." Sally said, taking the wrapper off of it and taking a bite. Her eyes shot open, surprised by how good they were!

"Wow! I… I made these?" Sally exclaimed, walking to the table, and sitting down. Isaac and Sally couldn't help but smile, seeing how happy she was. As she chewed, her eyes lit up, thinking of something.

"You know, I wasn't going to mention it, but I actually heard the apartment complex was going to have a baking contest next week. And one of the categories was for cupcakes." Sally began. Isaac and Lily began looking at each other, not liking where this was going.

"So, with these cupcakes… I think I'll actually enter." Sally stated. Isaac and Lily gulped, not thinking their plan would result in this.

"Sally… are you sure? I mean, these are good… too good! There won't be any competition!" Isaac lied, trying to dissuade her from entering. Sally only smiled at this, kissing Isaac.

"And you're too kind. But I'm still going to enter." Sally said, finishing her cupcake. She got up from the table, finishing putting dishes away.

"Hey, uh, I still have a bit of homework I need to finish for tomorrow. Can you help me look it over?" Lily asked Isaac. Isaac nodded, leaving the table with her, and going into her room. Lily quickly closed the door.

"Alright, how much homework do you have left?" Isaac asked.

"None. I finished it before I left school Friday. I said that so we could talk about what we're going to do now." Lily answered.

"Well, we can't just let her enter the competition. It'd be unfair to the other people competing." Isaac said. Lily thought on this, but she only shook her head.

"But there just store cupcakes. It's not like their actually going to be any better than someone who actually made something from scratch, right?" Lily asked. Isaac pondered on this, seeing her point. The reason they got them was so Sally would see them enjoying them and to make her happy… if not to also prevent them from having to eat them.

"Well… you have a point. And not to mention… it is just a baking competition for the apartment complex." Isaac said. Lily began nodding her head, agreeing.

"Yeah! And again, it's not like she's going to win first place!" Lily added. Isaac began smiling, nodding.

"You're right! And not to mention, she seems really happy about it! Alright, it's settled. We'll make sure she enters the competition." Isaac said, Lily high fiving him.

Isaac left Lily's room, stretching out his arms. Now, Isaac isn't one for cheating and lying. But considering the fact they were store-bought cupcakes, and not from a recipe possibly passed down from generation to generation, imperfections being perfected over time, it didn't seem that big of a deal to him.

As Isaac walked back to the kitchen, he heard a knock on the door. Not really expecting anyone, Isaac walked to it, looking through the peephole. It was a Mobian cat, older than Isaac. Much, much older! She must've been in her early seventies. Isaac opened the door, the elderly cat looking up at him. She was holding a basket with a cloth draped over it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for Samantha Horowitz. She told me she lived here." She said. Isaac nodded, letting her know she wasn't mistaken.

"I'm her husband, Issachar Horowitz." Isaac responded. The old cat's face lit up, smiling.

"Oh, I'm so glad to finally meet you! Your wife and I, we met when I was getting my mail. Oh, I came here to see if she wanted to try what I was making for the baking contest. I wanted to make sure they were at their best before I enter them in." She said, pulling the cloth off of the basket, revealing a batch of cupcakes.

Isaac could smell them, smelling very delicious. He looked behind him, not seeing Sally anywhere.

"I think she may have gone to bed. But… I still have room for a cupcake." Isaac said.

"Me too!" Lily said, surprising Isaac. She was directly behind him, wanting to see who he was talking to.

"You must be Lily! Oh, you look like your mother!" She said, her eyes lighting up. Lily's smile vanished as soon as she said that.

"Yes… she does." Isaac subtly agreed. The old cat took out two cupcakes, giving them to the hedgehogs. Lily and Isaac bit into them, the cake practically shocking them into a state of enjoyment! Isaac smacked his lips, not used to such a rich cake!

"I'm actually speechless." Isaac said, enjoying the cupcake.

"Same!" Lily exclaimed, taking another bite. The old cat was overjoyed by how much they were enjoying them. She covered the basket again, straightening herself out.

"I'm so glad you liked them! You know, I've been entering that contest for the past ten years! And so far, I have ten blue ribbons to show for it!" She said.

"Going for number eleven?" Isaac asked. She nodded, before sighing.

"You know… I don't have much anymore, Mr. Horowitz. My daughter pays for my rent so I wouldn't have to be moved into a nursing home… ever since my George died." She said. Isaac suddenly felt a heaviness in his heart.

"Your husband?" Isaac asked. She nodded, a stray tear falling from her face.

"I used to make them just for him. He would always tell me, 'Susan, when my time comes and I get up there to Heaven, I doubt there'll be anything better than what you could make! So when your time comes and get up there with me, please have one of those cakes, pipin' hot, just for me!'" She explained.

Isaac and Lily looked at each other, looking uneasy. They began rethinking just what they've done.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it! I still have to get to the other apartments to give these out! I'll see you all at the contest next Friday!" Sarah said, walking down the hallway. Isaac closed the door, looking troubled.

"Well… we really messed up this time." Isaac said, sitting down on the couch. Lily nodded, sitting next to him.

"Contest is all she has, isn't it?" Lily asked. Isaac nodded, feeling that was the case. As they sat there, Sally peeked out of the bedroom, her head peering over the doorframe.

"Isaac…" She said seductively, getting Isaac's attention. Isaac saw her fluttering eyes, her curled smile. Isaac felt his heart pick up its pace, knowing what she implied.

"Lily, we'll talk about this more tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to… sleep on it." Isaac said, getting up. Lily rolled her eyes, already knowing what he was talking about. She may be eight, but she wasn't naïve or stupid. She went to her room, closing the door. As soon as she was in her room, Sally revealed herself through the doorway, wearing a very thin nightgown, Isaac able to see every inch of her. Isaac felt his throat dry up, but not as severe as it would've been a few weeks ago.

"Something you're trying to tell me?" Isaac jokingly asked, walking up to her. Sally giggled, placing her hands onto Isaac's shoulders.

"Maybe. Why don't you follow me and… find out?" She asked, kissing him on his neck. She grabbed Isaac's hands, pulling him into their bedroom, Isaac closing the door behind them. Sally quickly pulled Isaac with herself onto the bed, the both of them bouncing off of it. She quickly began kissing him, holding onto him tightly!

"Feeling better?" Isaac asked, kissing her as well. Sally momentarily stopped, nodding her head.

"Yeah. Guess it was something I ate from before. You know, I was actually worried I was getting sick. But… maybe it was because I thought…" Sally began to say, before becoming silent. Isaac could see the look on her face, knowing she was becoming upset.

"Sally, it's okay. It's been a rough month for all of us." Isaac said, rubbing her back.

"I just thought… I was going to lose you. When you were burning up… I thought I was going to watch you die!" Sally confessed, beginning to cry. Isaac responded by holding onto her tightly, not letting her go.

"Shhh. It's all right. I'm not leaving you, Sally. I'm staying with the both of you! There won't be any more killings from the Demon, I promise you that!" Isaac promised. As they laid there, Isaac gently grabbed Sally's hand, kissing the back of it.

"I love you, my princess." Isaac said. As soon as that was said, Sally began kissing him again, almost tearing off his shirt!

As this was happening, Lily was in her room, trying to figure out how to fix the moral dilemma they were in. As she laid on her bed, her hands behind her head, she suddenly sat up, knowing how to fix the situation they were in! And she knew that it all starts with tomorrow!

The Next Morning:

As Isaac left his room, stretching out his arms and his back, he walked into the kitchen, only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms. Sally was in the kitchen, packing herself a lunch. As she was doing this, Isaac sneaked behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hela, meyn lib, sexi printsesin (Hello, my dear, sexy princess)." Isaac flirted, kissing her neck. Sally giggled a bit, getting out of his arms.

"Wasn't last night enough for you?" She jokingly asked, closing her briefcase.

"Is it such a sin that you drive me crazy?" Isaac asked, still flirting with her.

"No… but how you and Lily are going through these cupcakes tell me you're not getting enough to eat." Sally laughed. Isaac was confused, not quite knowing what she was talking about.

"What?" Isaac asked.

"Lily went and took five cupcakes with her to school. Now, I imagine she's going to be sharing them with someone, but at the rate they're going, there won't be enough to enter the contest." Sally said, straightening out her suit jacket. Suddenly, Isaac's eyes perked up, realizing that Lily had found out how to fix their problem!

"Well… I'm going to work. The paper is on the counter, so there may be a few classifieds in there. I know staying cooped up here is driving you crazy, so you getting a job might help. I'll be back by three this time around, so make sure Lily gets her homework done before tonight." Sally said, walking out of the door.

As she left, Isaac walked back into the kitchen, opening the freezer. And lo and behold, there were only three dozen cupcakes left, Isaac and Lily having eaten the first one.

"Lily, you genius! We just need to keep eating them until Sally has to make more before the contest!" Isaac realized, grabbing two from the freezer. Isaac quickly ate them, the frozen cakes numbing his teeth.

After Lily had gotten home, Isaac and Lily took cupcakes with them to eat so as to force Sally to make her batch so as to not have an unfair advantage in the contest. Throughout the whole week and into the next, Isaac and Sally began eating cupcakes as often as possible, making sure Sally saw how much they enjoyed them. Soon, only two days from the contest, Isaac and Lily were sitting at the table, not feeling very good. Of course, they had spent that last week and a half stuffing themselves with cupcakes.

Sally was setting down a mug of tea, noticing how they were quiet.

"You know, I was moving stuff around in the fridge when I noticed that all the cupcakes were gone from the freezer!" Sally commented.

"Sorry, Sally! We just… couldn't help ourselves! Those cupcakes were good!" Lily exclaimed. Isaac began nodding.

"I mean, I know they were good, but I didn't think you two would go through that many cupcakes in only a week! This is not good! The contest is in two days, and I don't have a single cupcake to enter!" Sally lamented.

"Oh, it's all our fault." Isaac said.

"No, no, I'm glad you enjoyed-" Sally began to say, before being interrupted by Isaac.

"Wait… you can make another batch, right?" Isaac asked. Sally began nodding her head, beginning to smile.

"Yeah… and instead of them being frozen, they'll actually be fresh! Oh man, this actually turned out great! Alright, clear out of the kitchen! I need peace and quiet!" Sally exclaimed, Isaac and Lily leaving. Sally began raiding the cupboard, grabbing olive oil, baking powder, cocoa powder, flour, and sugar!

"Isaac, we have eggs, right?" Sally asked.

"Just got a dozen yesterday." Isaac said, knowing she was going to need them today. Sally grabbed them, working on mixing the ingredients to make another batch of cupcakes. Isaac and Lily walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind them.

"You feeling any better?" Lily asked, knowing Isaac felt as sick as she did. Isaac nodded his head but clutched at his stomach.

"I feel better morally, but physically… yeah, we should get some medicine from the store while Sally bakes." Isaac said, he and Lily walking to the elevator.

Two Days Later:

Isaac, Sally, and Lily were sitting with the other people who entered their stuff in the competition. Sally was staring at her cupcakes, which she thought had a good chance at winning! Sarah, the old cat Isaac had spoken to, was sitting next to them. She saw the light in Sally's eyes, seeing that she was excited for the judges to try hers.

"Samantha, from what Issachar and Lily told me, they told me to expect stiff competition from you." Sarah said. Sally looked over to Sarah, who she could see was not very concerned.

"Funny thing is, I'm not very good at cooking. Usually, Issachar cooks. But when I made those cupcakes, and when I tried one, it was like… like I finally broke through a wall after years of trying to claw my way through it!" Sally said. Sarah nodded, knowing how that feeling felt.

"I wasn't always the best cook myself. Hell, I once managed to burn chicken stock! But after I had my daughter, I knew I had to start getting good! So, after some trial and error, I got better, and I passed on what I knew to my daughter." Sarah explained.

"You know, that actually makes me feel better! That just means I can still improve, right?" Sally asked. Sarah nodded, looking back over to the judging table.

The judges approached Sally's plate, seeing the chocolate cupcakes with white icing. The first judge produced a knife, cutting into it. He separated the two halves, studying the interior.

"Nice crumb. Not dried out. Smells good, too." The first judge observed, picking up the half.

"But as we all know, it comes down to taste." The second judge added, picking up the other half. They both bit into their halves at the same time, chewing. Suddenly, they stopped, swallowing what they had in their mouths.

"Orville, what do you make of this?" The second judge asked.

"I'm tasting a burnt, bitter flavor… almost like baker's chocolate." Orville answered.

"Yes, but… it has hint of something. A subtle undertone of… coffee?" He questioningly added. Orville shook his head, believing it to be something else.

"No, Rich. I believe it's Apple Cider Vinegar." Orville corrected, with Rich nodding in agreement. They sat the halves down, Orville taking the blue ribbon out of his pocket. Orville quickly put it onto Sarah's plate, declaring her the winner! Everyone quickly stood up, giving applause for the people who entered the contest!

Sarah was on the verge of tears, smiling and happy that she managed to win for the eleventh year in the row! Isaac and Lily breathed a sigh of relief, happy that Sarah won fair and square. Sally, while she lost, was still very happy, believing that she had almost won!

"Congratulations, Sarah! Have to say, I actually thought I was going to win." Sally congratulated. Sarah nodded, holding one of her hands.

"Oh sweetie, I bet you it was a close race! But that shouldn't stop you from trying to improve! And who knows, maybe you'll be the one who wins next year!" Sarah said, giving advice to Sally. Sarah soon left, being congratulated by the others.

"Sorry you didn't win, mom." Lily said, keeping their cover. Sally only shook her head, smiling.

"Oh, I didn't really think I was going to win in the first place. But it's more than enough to know you two enjoy them! Which I'm happy to say that around this time, I decided to make a double batch, since I know you two will be going through them quick!" Sally revealed.

Isaac and Lily's eyes shot open, realizing Sally was talking about eight dozen cupcakes, or ninety-six of them!

"Ninety-six cupcakes?!" They both exclaimed, shocked. Sally nodded, looking very happy.

"Yep! Now, you two can have something sweet whenever you want!" Sally answered, walking off to talk to Sarah.

"We… we now have to deal with ninety-six of them?" Lily asked, her stomach doing a flip. Isaac sighed, realizing those cupcakes were there to stay.

"Well, Lily. Looks like we're gonna have to do what we should've done in the first place." Isaac said, walking over to the table with the cupcakes.

"You mean…?" Lily asked, unable to finish her sentence.

"Learn to love them." Isaac answered, picking up two cupcakes, handing one of them to Lily. They both bit into them, chewing.

Three Days Later:

Isaac was sitting on the couch, reading through the newspaper. He saw a classified for work at the supermarket they frequent, seeing that they needed someone to help with stocking and bagging. While it only paid minimum wage, Isaac knew it would be a good job to maintain his cover so the Order wouldn't find them. Lily walked out of her room, wearing her backpack.

"Isaac, you going to walk me to the bus stop?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, just need a moment. I can't quite wake up this morning." Isaac said, folding the paper. Isaac got up, before stopping, smelling the air.

"Lily, do you smell something?" Isaac asked. Lily smelled the air, picking up on something.

"Yeah… something rotten?" Lily questioned, not quite knowing what that smell was.

"No… but it's coming from the kitchen." Isaac said, walking towards the smell. Isaac opened the fridge, the smell hitting him!

"Found it! Looks like Sally's trying her hand at making pudding." Isaac said, seeing the cups filled with pudding in the fridge. Lily sighed in frustration, realizing Sally wasn't going to stop trying.

"Alright, start grabbing them." Isaac said, he and Lily beginning to remove the cups and put them onto the table.