The Great Cake Escape

Finn bolted down the street as automatons smashed through market stalls behind him, their mechanical limbs whirring with deadly precision.

Zephyria groaned. "Well, I can't let him get kidnapped. That would be too easy of an escape for him."

She hijacked a nearby steambike, revved the engine, and took off.

Vespera hopped onto a grappling hook, swung onto a rooftop, and shouted, "I call dibs on looting the empire after this!"

Tess just grabbed a bucket of popcorn.

Finn dodged a punch, jumped over a steam-bot vendor, and immediately tripped on a loose gear, crashing into a fruit stand. Apples rained from the sky.

One of the automatons grabbed his collar.

"Processing capture," it droned. "Engagement confirmed."

Finn screamed, elbowed it in the face, and somehow managed to make the automaton punch itself so hard it short-circuited.

Zephyria pulled up beside him on the bike. "GET ON!"

Finn didn't hesitate. He leapt onto the bike, nearly knocking her off in the process.

"Drive! DRIVE!"

Zephyria revved the engine. "Hold on, idiot prince."

The bike roared forward, steam bursting from its vents, and tore through the city streets as more automatons gave chase.

Behind them, Empress Automatia watched from the top of her airship, her mechanical fingers steepled in thought.

"Fascinating," she mused. "Perhaps I should take a more personal approach."

She snapped her fingers again—and the warship's main cannon began to charge.

Finn, hearing the ominous hum, looked over his shoulder and paled.

"WHY DOES IT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING BIG IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE?!"

Vespera swung in from a rooftop, landing gracefully on the back of the bike. "Oh, that's just the world's biggest plasma cannon charging up."

Finn turned to Zephyria. "Can you go faster?!"

Zephyria gritted her teeth. "I am going fast!"

Finn looked at Vespera. "Can YOU do anything?!"

Vespera smirked, pulling out a stick of dynamite. "Oh, don't worry, darling. I've got just the thing."

Finn screamed.