Star's Corner of the Galaxy

Nori crashed to the ground hard enough to make her vision glitch wildly. She barely had time to move before the mosnter had pounced on her, fanged grin split gruesomely wide. Its tail flicked up, and a scream was punched from her voice box as its syringe pierced through her torso. The burning sting of its nanite acid was immediate and all-consuming. Her voice went choppy as her system overloaded from the pain. (or, Nori gets attacked by a murder drone and it goes exactly as you'd expect—until it doesn't)

“We can worry about that later. Cyn’s going after the gala. We—” A deafening crash of thunder made them both flinch, and it was followed by the explosive shattering of dozens of windows worth of glass. They looked back to the manor sitting beyond the swamp in time to see the lights flare sun-bright and poison-yellow through the empty window panes of the ballroom. And then it went dark, the entire house quick to follow.  The rain suddenly slowed to a drizzle, and in the new quiet, the distant sounds of screams echoed from the building. 

Godzilla was feeling decently about the situation, overall, by the time he tracked down the sounds of an unfolding fight—it would not have surprised him if Kong had already involved himself. As he crested the final rise that overlooked the valley bordering the human settlement, he saw Mothra first, soaring sharply through the limited airspace. Then there was Kong, and a number of other great apes. Faint movement drew his eye to the humans, hopefully heading to safety, where they wouldn’t be underfoot.  And then there was a flash of white, a chill in the air, a bright glow. A familiar roar. 

They broke through the cloud cover before long, and Tessa immediately started scanning for a good place to hole up for the night. Her heart sank at the signs of destruction, even though she was no longer surprised. No matter how far they went, it seemed they’d never outrun Cyn and Co.  “Oooh!” she gasped, leaning out suddenly enough that N choked and scrambled to keep her from overbalancing straight out of his arms. “A mall!”  The enormous building loomed out of the dark, streetlights dotting the barren parking lot. 

Her stomach tank revolted, and V stepped back to throw up on the street.  It was N. She’d know him anywhere, even dead and broken.  She trembled, hugging herself. A weak sob burst from her voice box. He’d been missing since—since everything changed. Even Cyn hadn’t been able to track him; standing orders for every disassembly drone alive, if they were to encounter him, were to secure him and bring him home. 

“N?” she whispered hoarsely.  The humming stopped. Footsteps. He popped his head around the corner, let her see his white eyes and close-mouthed smile before emerging fully. Murder drone.  Tessa was trembling; her insides seized, and not just from instinctual fear.  “You good?” he asked.  She gave a tiny shake of her head.

Tessa wavered in place even as J rushed from the room. Her parents or N. The parents who had a child because it was expected of them, or her first friend. The parents who never seemed to stop scolding her, or the beloved brother who never failed to make her smile. The parents who left cuts and bruises on her skin, or the drone who faithfully patched them up. It was really no choice at all. (or, Tessa and N navigate the apocalypse after Tessa rescues N instead of confronting Cyn at the gala)