*** Ultraman and all respective characters, likenesses and items are copyright © 1966-2002 Tsuburaya Productions Co., Ltd. Ultra Theresa is copyright © 2002 Wayne Koizumi, and used with permission This fan fiction is not an official sequel to Ultra Theresa and is not considered to be part of the original Ultra Theresa timeline or universe.Original characters are the property of Chibi Cel-Chan, except where specified, and are not to be used without permission.***

Moroboshi wasn't certain at what point he had released the energy, it was just one of those things that didn't even seem to be happening at the time. The only indication of what had happened was the fact that he resumed his awareness while bracing himself against the ground, attempting to stand up, but failing.

The monster that stood across from him was much in the same position, but had suffered severe damage. As the picture became clearer, Moroboshi struggled to stand and prayed that he would have enough energy left for another hit.

It had been awhile, to say the least, since he'd used that godforsaken power, and although his mind could never forget the sensations that resulted from it, his body wasn't familiar with it at all. Even with the strength of his prostheses, it still was such a crippling force that he was nearly knocked out.

The monster had gotten to its feet. It wiped a trickle of some sort of liquid away from its unmoving mouth, and Moroboshi was alarmed at the clarity of his vision when faced with this creature now. He teetered feebly and swallowed, uncertain if his vision was failing him or not.

The creature shook its head. "Nice energy, I must say, for an old man, you can pack a formidable punch. Formidable indeed..." The creature turned around so its back was to Moroboshi.

It then spun around rapidly and released several spiked daggers. Moroboshi was unable to react and he took the brunt of most of the attack. His arms and one remaining leg were badly torn up, and he screamed, collapsing to the ground in a pool of his own blood.

The monster obviously had not been aiming for any vital organs, and it then walked nonchalantly over to Moroboshi, pausing and then reaching down and dragging him to his feet, roughly grasping his chin. "By god, you are completely incompetent, aren't you?"

Moroboshi glared and used his prosthetic leg to land a painful kick in the monster's stomach. The monster growled and dropped Moroboshi, backing up. Moroboshi placed all his weight on his prosthetic leg. His rage was growing to the point where he didn't even notice the crippling pain in his arms and legs, and he raised his hands up and suddenly released a burst of energy that knocked the monster completely over.

Moroboshi collapsed and curled into a ball, clutching his head to keep from passing out from dizziness, but even on the ground, the whole world was spinning....

Moroboshi slowly dragged himself to his feet, using his one operating leg to stumble over to the monster. He stood over it, unable to see straight and knowing damn well he had lost a lot of blood, and then spoke. He disliked how wavery his voice was, and the minute he tried to speak, his leg gave out and he fell over.

The monster knew it as well, and it immediately pulled itself to its feet, despite the appearance of wires and machine panels exposed all over its body. "You've tried my patience a few too many times, old man... you've got a whole lot of balls for someone your age."

The monster suddenly reached into thin air and suddenly, a large machete type weapon appeared. He happily swung it around with one arm. "This'll work well. Maybe you're used to extreme feats of magic and technology, old man, but I stand by my principle that nothing feels better than the good old fashioned experience of solid steel in your hand. Let me show you what I mean."

"Don't worry, it won't hurt too badly.. you've lost so much blood already I'm sure you won't last all that long. Sort of too bad, but I'm not much for keeping my prey alive."

The monster let out a laugh. "Yeah, that's really gonna happen.. don't you think I've seen enough movies to know that you never tell them who you're with before you kill them?"

Moroboshi gritted his teeth. It wasn't just his dying that bothered him, he'd survived long enough already... but it was the planet that he lamented in his blood loss-induced stupor. As the monster raised the machete over his head, a single tear rolled out of Moroboshi's eye.