Killing some darlings
Feb. 27th, 2025 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameHave to do some cuts to shorten chapter 6 and move it along faster. I do have some stuff that I actually like the writing for on the chopping block. Oh well.
There was a peculiar familiarity in the situation Leo found himself in—a dead body, himself set up as the prime suspect, and an enemy who baited him into ignoring his good sense and walking right into a trap. In the middle of the shock, part of his mind seemed to say, “Huh, well what do you know? It happened again,” and thus prepared the rest of him to react quickly when he sensed Buran moving behind him to shoot. He dodged just in time to avoid taking the full force of it to his back, although it did catch him in the side, causing him to stumble for a moment.
Buran raised his pincers again for another shot, and Leo fought the urge to immediately charge at him—that was likely what he wanted, an excuse to call in for reinforcements and claim that Leo had caused everything. Instead, he tried to remain calm, keeping his palms open even as he kept them in a defensive position.
“You can’t possibly think you’ll be able to pin this on me,” he reasoned, trying to talk through it like he’d try to defuse one of Zero’s temper tantrums. “There’s too much about this that doesn’t make sense. A lack of spacium residue on the body, even though I’m covered in dust. A child receiving medical care, waiting for evacuation. Why would I risk that?”
“Shut up!” Buran ordered, but he didn’t shoot. Instead, he was vibrating slightly as he stood at the door. Leo got the feeling that if he were human, he’d be pacing and running his hands through his hair right now. He hadn’t thought this out.
Another Ultraman might have been able to take advantage of this, try to make him more at ease, talk him into standing down and letting Leo and Zero go without further incident. Someone like Zoffy or Taro, with millennia of experience and training under Father of Ultra himself, knowing the negotiation and de-escalation skills necessary to avoid further bloodshed.
But Leo was trained by Seven, a man beaten and broken down by the reality of the universe, who strove to teach his protégé more harshly than life itself would that no matter what high ideals you held, it all came down to a matter of survival. Seven was a survivor. Leo was a survivor.
And no matter what happened, Leo would ensure that Zero survived.
Leo slid into a basic ready position, focusing his energy in his color timer. He’d never tried this himself before, but both Astra and Seven had had luck in the past—sending energy pulses that translated into a signal for help.
“What are you doing?” Buran demanded, watching his beam lamp blink. “Stop that!”
Leo sent out his message as far as he could, hoping it could be detected beyond the atmosphere. But he couldn’t be sure, because Buran rushed forward and seized his head with a pincer, and then the next thing he knew was pain.
~~~
Zero woke up again with a gasp.
“Leo!”
He’d gotten up too quickly, breathed too sharply, and he began to cough. Pain returned—in his chest, his sides, and his head. He wanted to curl up, but there was pain in his hands, his arms, everything whenever he moved.
Zvezda turned from her son to check on Zero, gently saying, “Hush, you were just dreaming.”
Zero tried to shake his head despite the splitting pain. “No. I felt him—he was calling…”
“What was that?” Buran demanded.
“He’s having a nightmare,” Zvezda said flatly. “Hard to believe, with such excellent company as you checking in.”
Buran buzzed, letting out a noise so high-pitched it hurt Zero’s ears. He cringed, and Zvezda argued, “If you’re going to do that, then leave. He needs plenty of rest, and now I’m going to have to sedate him again.”
Zero tried to shake his head. Everything hurt. There was something sharp—a lot of sharp somethings—in his arms, his back, his chest. It was worse than the techtor gear cutting into him during a growth spurt, but it was the only comparison he had. He’d never felt this much sharp pain all throughout his body.
Zvezda saw his growing distress and gently insisted, “I promise, I’ll remove the needles as soon as you go to sleep.”
“No,” he argued. “I can’t sleep…”
“You will after this sedative.”
Another jab. Less painful now. His body started going numb.
“No,” he said, his mouth becoming more difficult to move. “Leo…he needs me.”
“He needs you to rest,” she insisted. “He’ll come get you when he’s ready.”
Zero tried to push more words out his mouth, but it all felt like mush—his words, his mouth, his brain. As he looked at the door, he saw Buran standing guard, almost like he was blocking anyone from coming in.
“No,” Zero tried to say. “Don’t…don’t make me…”
He could just feel the movement of the needles being removed from his body. It was almost like sitting in the sand and feeling something move next to him—the sensation was strangely peripheral, his skin losing all feeling. Every breath felt heavy and slow, and he couldn’t support the weight of his own head. He had to sleep.
All the while, his beam lamp flashed behind his visor, Leo’s telepathy sending a single frantic warning:
“Danger! Zero, wake up! Danger!”
He could see Buran at the door, his claw charging up as he raised it. Zero couldn’t make himself talk any longer, shout that Zvezda needed to turn around.
Leo’s warning cut off suddenly, but Zero was fast asleep, unable to rouse at the sudden silence or at the screams of the others in the room with him.
Side note, the part where Leo's thinking is kind of intentionally supposed to sound like Goofy, given the absurdity of the thought. Leo is not supposed to sound like Alec Guinness in his first speaking line there, but it ended up a little like Obi-Wan's "You know you can't win, Darth."
There was a peculiar familiarity in the situation Leo found himself in—a dead body, himself set up as the prime suspect, and an enemy who baited him into ignoring his good sense and walking right into a trap. In the middle of the shock, part of his mind seemed to say, “Huh, well what do you know? It happened again,” and thus prepared the rest of him to react quickly when he sensed Buran moving behind him to shoot. He dodged just in time to avoid taking the full force of it to his back, although it did catch him in the side, causing him to stumble for a moment.
Buran raised his pincers again for another shot, and Leo fought the urge to immediately charge at him—that was likely what he wanted, an excuse to call in for reinforcements and claim that Leo had caused everything. Instead, he tried to remain calm, keeping his palms open even as he kept them in a defensive position.
“You can’t possibly think you’ll be able to pin this on me,” he reasoned, trying to talk through it like he’d try to defuse one of Zero’s temper tantrums. “There’s too much about this that doesn’t make sense. A lack of spacium residue on the body, even though I’m covered in dust. A child receiving medical care, waiting for evacuation. Why would I risk that?”
“Shut up!” Buran ordered, but he didn’t shoot. Instead, he was vibrating slightly as he stood at the door. Leo got the feeling that if he were human, he’d be pacing and running his hands through his hair right now. He hadn’t thought this out.
Another Ultraman might have been able to take advantage of this, try to make him more at ease, talk him into standing down and letting Leo and Zero go without further incident. Someone like Zoffy or Taro, with millennia of experience and training under Father of Ultra himself, knowing the negotiation and de-escalation skills necessary to avoid further bloodshed.
But Leo was trained by Seven, a man beaten and broken down by the reality of the universe, who strove to teach his protégé more harshly than life itself would that no matter what high ideals you held, it all came down to a matter of survival. Seven was a survivor. Leo was a survivor.
And no matter what happened, Leo would ensure that Zero survived.
Leo slid into a basic ready position, focusing his energy in his color timer. He’d never tried this himself before, but both Astra and Seven had had luck in the past—sending energy pulses that translated into a signal for help.
“What are you doing?” Buran demanded, watching his beam lamp blink. “Stop that!”
Leo sent out his message as far as he could, hoping it could be detected beyond the atmosphere. But he couldn’t be sure, because Buran rushed forward and seized his head with a pincer, and then the next thing he knew was pain.
~~~
Zero woke up again with a gasp.
“Leo!”
He’d gotten up too quickly, breathed too sharply, and he began to cough. Pain returned—in his chest, his sides, and his head. He wanted to curl up, but there was pain in his hands, his arms, everything whenever he moved.
Zvezda turned from her son to check on Zero, gently saying, “Hush, you were just dreaming.”
Zero tried to shake his head despite the splitting pain. “No. I felt him—he was calling…”
“What was that?” Buran demanded.
“He’s having a nightmare,” Zvezda said flatly. “Hard to believe, with such excellent company as you checking in.”
Buran buzzed, letting out a noise so high-pitched it hurt Zero’s ears. He cringed, and Zvezda argued, “If you’re going to do that, then leave. He needs plenty of rest, and now I’m going to have to sedate him again.”
Zero tried to shake his head. Everything hurt. There was something sharp—a lot of sharp somethings—in his arms, his back, his chest. It was worse than the techtor gear cutting into him during a growth spurt, but it was the only comparison he had. He’d never felt this much sharp pain all throughout his body.
Zvezda saw his growing distress and gently insisted, “I promise, I’ll remove the needles as soon as you go to sleep.”
“No,” he argued. “I can’t sleep…”
“You will after this sedative.”
Another jab. Less painful now. His body started going numb.
“No,” he said, his mouth becoming more difficult to move. “Leo…he needs me.”
“He needs you to rest,” she insisted. “He’ll come get you when he’s ready.”
Zero tried to push more words out his mouth, but it all felt like mush—his words, his mouth, his brain. As he looked at the door, he saw Buran standing guard, almost like he was blocking anyone from coming in.
“No,” Zero tried to say. “Don’t…don’t make me…”
He could just feel the movement of the needles being removed from his body. It was almost like sitting in the sand and feeling something move next to him—the sensation was strangely peripheral, his skin losing all feeling. Every breath felt heavy and slow, and he couldn’t support the weight of his own head. He had to sleep.
All the while, his beam lamp flashed behind his visor, Leo’s telepathy sending a single frantic warning:
“Danger! Zero, wake up! Danger!”
He could see Buran at the door, his claw charging up as he raised it. Zero couldn’t make himself talk any longer, shout that Zvezda needed to turn around.
Leo’s warning cut off suddenly, but Zero was fast asleep, unable to rouse at the sudden silence or at the screams of the others in the room with him.
Side note, the part where Leo's thinking is kind of intentionally supposed to sound like Goofy, given the absurdity of the thought. Leo is not supposed to sound like Alec Guinness in his first speaking line there, but it ended up a little like Obi-Wan's "You know you can't win, Darth."