James Birdsong and Guest: Thank you for the review and support! Generous feedback like yours always makes writing more enjoyable than it already is!
Clarification: Haruka and Michiru are pseudo-identities that Princess Uranus and Princess Neptune created when they first met and introduced to each other. They haven't met officially in their real identities yet. Uranus acted as Haruka, the son of the commandant-general of Uranus, and Neptune acted as Michiru, the bodyguard of Princess Neptune. The pseudo-names are mentioned based on the princesses' perspective.
Miranda Castle
The enemy troops rapidly surrounded the castle and flooded all entrances. At this point the fate of Miranda Castle and the people on the Uranian planet were solely in Neptune's hands. The guardian of the sea stood at the summit of the castle, overlooking the approaching forces and gripped onto the Deep Aqua Mirror tightly in her hand. She was prepared to fight this battle and defend the planet of her senshi partner alone.
When the wavy-haired guardian walked around the castle to conduct some final checks earlier, she had made sure that all source of light was shut off and blocked so that the pathways would be as dark as possible under the tall curtain walls. She also marked some spots along the pathways.
She stay put and waited patiently for the enemy troops to march further into the castle. At this time the moonlight from Ariel, the brightest moon of Uranus (out of all others that were relatively dark), offered a glimmer of light that shone faintly at the summit.
Soon every pathway to the palace was occupied with monsters. The troops had stretched out into very long lines since the pathways were narrow and lengthy passages. But that was exactly what Neptune wanted. In order for her strategy to work out, she needed them to disperse and lose their tactical formations first.
When Neptune was finally satisfied with what she saw, she raised her Deep Aqua Mirror towards Ariel to capture its gleam.
She then let her Mirror deflect lights onto the spots where she had marked earlier.
Unbeknownst to the aqua-haired princess, her Deep Aqua Mirror intensified the luminosity of the gleam captured and emitted powerful beaming lights towards the spots instead.
Neptune's action caught the enemy force off-guard. The troops were instantly perplexed and perturbed by the sudden distractions. They panicked and reacted as if traps and ambushes were set up around them, and frantically sent attacks towards the spots where the blinding lights shone. Since the troops were trapped in the pathways with no organized formations and no easy way to get out, Neptune's lights destroyed their coherence and caused panics amongst them.
The wavy-haired guardian saw the opportunity and created even more deceptions by maneuvering her Mirror to flicker lights towards the narrowest part of the pathways, pushing the forces to further obstruct each other and causing more chaos. She also sent rays directly at the enemy forces, so that the monsters started sending fire and lightning and ice attacks to each other and were practically taking out themselves. Neptune's plan was working out beautifully, perhaps much better than what she had originally expected. She stood still at the summit, watching her strategies unfolded and reaping profits from the successful implementation.
It didn't take long before majority of the enemy force was obliterated by vanquishing each other, but the droids of each troop and a handful of stronger monsters did not succumbed to Neptune's tricks and remained alive. They still posed threats to Miranda Castle.
Now Neptune had to move onto her second step. It was time for a counter-offensive.
As she was getting ready for her next move, a cloaked flying unit was lingering around the aqua haired guardian. Before Neptune detected it with her Mirror and sent a wave towards it, the enemy flying unit emitted a piercing sound and alarmed the surviving units of her whereabouts. She startled and the remaining enemy forces quickly collected themselves and headed towards the palace courtyard.
Pluto flyby
Uranus bid farewell to Pluto and made her way back to her own planet. As Uranus was on her way, her communicator alerted her that Neptune had tried to reach out to her earlier. The blond princess immediately tried to connect with her again just to make sure her senshi partner was safe and everything was fine on her planet, but she couldn't get a hold of the aqua-haired princess.
As Uranus wondered what the call was about, Pluto rang.
"Uranus, it's Pluto again. I want to let you know that Neptune attempted to contact me earlier. Did she try to reach you?"
"She did," Uranus answered.
"I guess she called when we were both engaged in fighting enemies, I wonder if everything was okay with her," Pluto tried to deduce why she didn't notice the call.
"Maybe she was just trying to find out if we still needed help."
"I hope so. Let me know if you need any assistance from me. Safe travels."
"Will do. Thanks Pluto."
Now Uranus couldn't help but start to wonder if things were okay on her home planet.
Miranda Castle
After Neptune's position was revealed, she could not continue with her previous plan anymore. She had to adjust quickly, come up with a different strategy and carry on with it.
The remaining droids and monsters from all directions flooded into the palace courtyard quickly. It was apparent that their plan was to enter Rosalind Garden and head for the summit. Neptune knew that she needed to halt them at the entrance - she could not afford to let them come in and spread out everywhere, because giving her enemies mobility would put her in a huge disadvantage as she could be surrounded and encircled by monsters. She raced towards the entrance of Rosalind Garden, hoping to get there before the enemies did.
From the summit's outlook, Neptune dashed downhill towards the lower platform, sprinted across the garden bridge, and leapt over the tranquil pond. In no time she arrived at the high hedges near the entrance of the garden again. Everything appeared to be as undisturbed as before.
Neptune glanced around quickly and came up with an idea. Where she stood was actually the perfect battleground - the tall shrubs that made up the hedges could serve as a camouflage (one of the advantages for having green hair and uniform). That would also allow her to switch to the offensive side, since she could employ a hit-and-run tactic, sending attacks to take out a few monsters each time while moving away quickly without being noticed, so that the enemies would have a hard time telling where she was exactly and launching counter attack at her. Being vastly outnumbered and not having any assistance, Neptune knew that this would be her best bet. She quietly retreated behind one of the tall shrubs and waited for further actions.
As Neptune expected, a few monsters started rushing into the garden. The guardian of the sea felt more confident that her plan would work out. She raised her hand, summoned her Deep Submerge attack towards the group of monsters.
Within a fraction of a second after the wave hurled out of her hand, Neptune immediately regretted her action and wished that she could have taken it back instead. The few monsters actually stopped moving and did not attempt to dodge Neptune's attack at all. They were taken out but after that the garden was eerily silent. There was neither a counter-attack nor more monsters coming into the garden. This was not a good sign.
The wavy-haired guardian suspected that she had been baited instead. She scolded herself for not waiting until the droids, the leaders of the troops, showed up first. Now that she revealed her own position and there were no more monsters in front of her nor attack returned to her, what could she do next?
Before Neptune could contemplate her next move, her suspicions turned out to be correct. The droids had made their way into the garden well before she did and were cloaking between the shrubs. They were waiting for her to hide there so that they could ambush her. Three droids quickly reemerged and cornered her.
"Neptune, your time is up." One of the droids who seemed to be the leader of the pack said. It burst into an evil laughter.
Frankly, Neptune was in a bad position, but it would take a lot more to be able to prevail over the wavy-haired guardian. Neptune peeked into her Mirror and learned that these robotic-like droids were actually ranged attackers. With that insight she decided to take on them with a melee combat.
Since meeting Haurka and engaging in a melee contest with the blonde tween, Neptune had actually started working on her melee skills. She fought back aggressively and disintegrated one of the droids. Right after that she leapt out of the shrubs and landed in the open area between the hedges.
Now that she made herself visible, the only possible solution for Neptune was to fight whatever monsters or droids coming her way and tried her best to dodge attacks from her enemies. She stood steady, gripping her Mirror firmly in one hand while raising her other hand, preparing to send her Deep Submerge attack to the first monster that jumped out.
Triton Castle flyby
Uranus had made her way past Neptune already. Glancing at her partner's planet and Triton Castle, the blonde princess recalled all of the places Michiru described to her when they were sitting by the pond in Rosalind Garden, going through the drawings on Neptune's sketchbook. According to the drawings on the sketchbook and Michiru's descriptions, Triton Castle was a dreamy place – everything was rich in colors and conformed to harmony and beauty; buildings were masterfully designed and constructed; Thalassa Garden was filled with artfully crafted topiaries. Surrounding them were natural sceneries that were almost too splendid to be true.
Competing with the beautiful and dreamy sceneries were Princess Neptune's landscape paintings hanging on the walls of Galatea Art School, even Queen Serenity would send her ambassador to hand pick some for her art gallery in Moon Castle; situated next to the art school was Nereid Music Conservatory, a place that nurtured musical talents. It often hosted violin and harp recitals performed by Princess Neptune.
There was also Halimede Alchemy Lab, which was a unique lab in the solar system that tested and developed interesting ideas from Princess Neptune. It also manufactured beauty products like nail dye waxes and hair curling potions.
The blonde princess smiled, wishing that she could visit the planet of her senshi partner and see the beautiful and interesting places with her own eyes.
Miranda Castle
Neptune had managed to vanquish most of the remaining monsters with a few crafty tricks. It had been a tough battle due to the size of the troops and her not being able to get any assistance at all. Despite being in a disadvantageous position, the aqua haired guardian had done the best she could keeping Uranian in a safe place, and strategize her tactics and moves. She tirelessly continued to defend her partner's planet.
Standing in the open area and being outnumbered, the aqua-haired guardian could only adopt a more defensive approach and launch attacks whenever she saw the opportunities. Most of the times she was simply dodging attacks coming from all directions. This also gave enemies the chance to force her into more unfavorable positions. Soon Neptune and the enemies were fighting at the summit of the castle, where she executed her first defensive tactics. There were a few monsters and droids left to be taken out.
As Neptune removed yet another monster, a droid stroke an icy blade towards her. She tried to dodge it but the wind picked up suddenly. The hurricane force wind constrained her movement and blew the strike straight into her. The direct hit sent a crushing force towards her, knocking her down immediately. She almost lost grip of her Mirror as she landed on the limestone pavement.
"Aww!" Neptune cried. She glanced at her arm where the attack struck. It looked pretty bad. But Neptune refused to let it bother her; she knew that the safety of Uranian, Miranda Castle, and the entire planet were still in her hands. She could not give up until her last breath.
Neptune quickly got up on her feet. Just then another droid lunged from behind and hurled chain lightning at her. She dove beneath it but the first droid launched another icy blade towards her again. It hit her on the same spot and she tumbled again. As she fell down, her hand made an impact on the ground, causing her fingers to give up their duties. She lost her grasp and the Deep Aqua Mirror flew out of her hand, landing a few steps away from her.
Neptune tried to get up and reach for it, but immediately found herself surrounded by droids. One of them entangled her with chain lightning around her body, and threatened to strike her if she tried to move.
The wavy-haired guardian was immobile and had no other way to defend or free herself at this point.
The droids laughed maliciously.
"Uranus, where are you?" Neptune whispered. "Please come back…"
Inner Moons of Uranus
Uranus had made it to the inner moons of her planet. She found it unusual that Miranda Castle appeared to be so much darker. Normally she would be able to see it even before she got to the moons with her sharp eyes, but now she could barely see the levitating castle next to her planet.
Something seemed off and she became worried.
The blonde princess summoned her Space Sword, preparing for any necessary battle that she might encounter along the way.
To Uranus's surprise, the gems on her Sword started flashing rather alarmingly, something that had she had never seen before on her talisman. Suspecting that something was indeed wrong, she sped up, going as fast as she could towards Miranda Castle.
Miranda Castle
The leader of the droids walked over to pick up Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror while the other droids stood guarding the aqua-haired princess closely.
"Humph! So this is what you used to take out most of my troops?" The droid commented. It wasn't meant to be a question.
"It's in our possession now. What are you going to do, Princess Neptune?"
Neptune stared at the droid, trying to come up with new plans. The talisman definitely could not end up in the hands of the enemies. Perhaps she could try to negotiate in order to buy herself some more time, and hopefully Uranus would return soon? After all, as long as she could keep them doing anything other than attacking, Uranian and Miranda Castle would at least be safe, and she could also try to collect some insight and decide what to do next.
"I still have plans, but I'm afraid I can't tell you," Neptune answered mysteriously.
"You still do? After losing your Mirror to us and being entangled?" The lead droid laughed and asked.
"Well, just because the Mirror is in your hand, that doesn't necessarily mean it's in your possession," she calmly said.
"Why not?" The droid asked.
"Because the Mirror is so mystical that no one can predict what it can do. It might attack you instead."
"What do you suggest I should do then?" The droid looked into the Mirror and saw nothing but its own reflection.
"Why don't you tell me what you're trying to do then I'll give you my suggestion," Neptune boldly proposed.
"I wonder if it really will attack me," the droid said curiously.
"I wouldn't try if I were you," Neptune tried to sound enigmatic as a way to bluff, hoping the droid would call her out and try it instead.
"Maybe I will find out from you first!"
The droid raised the Mirror above its head, directing its reflective side towards Neptune.
"Attack Neptune!" The droid shouted.
The aqua-haired guardian startled. She was still discovering the abilities of her talisman as she was using it. She had no idea what it was capable of doing in its full extent, and whether it would actually respond to the enemies' command and attack her instead.
"Please help me," Neptune pleaded in a tiny voice as she faced her own Mirror.
At the same time, Uranus's Space Sword was acting more strangely. It guided Uranus to raise it. Suddenly, instead of flashing, the gems emitted strong beaming lights towards the summit of Miranda Castle and straight into the Deep Aqua Mirror. Uranus and everyone at the summit were shocked when it happened.
The lights then flickered from the Mirror, creating a light explosion and blinding and eliminating all enemies that the reflective side shone on. The chain lightning that entangled Neptune was also abolished.
Neptune flinched away from the powerful lights. In no way she was expecting this.
The lead droid that held up the Mirror was terrified. It now actually believed that Neptune wasn't bluffing when she said the Mirror could cause harm unexpectedly. It quickly dropped the Mirror, and tried to jump off the castle to escape.
Neptune was now freed since the other droids that encircled her were vanquished by the powerful lights. The aqua-haired guardian quickly lunged forward to pick up her Mirror.
"Submarine Reflection!" she shouted to summon a powerful wave of seawater. It blasted onto the last droid that was trying to escape.
After that, everything went quiet at Miranda Castle. Neptune looked into her Mirror and confirmed that the area was clear of enemies again. She finally heaved a sigh of relief.
It was the toughest battle she had fought thus far, and even though in the very end she had to rely on a crucial assistance in order to claim victory, she felt quite successful that she was able protect and defend the people and planet of her senshi partner.
The aqua haired guardian stood at the summit with the Mirror in her hand. She looked above, wondering where the source of such strong light could be coming from. There was nothing remotely bright enough in her visible eyes.
As Neptune tried to solve the mystery, she suddenly remembered that the only thing that could complement her Deep Aqua Mirror was Uranus's Space Sword.
Did the Space Sword help saving her? If so, where was Uranus? Had she return to Miranda Castle already?
That was when Neptune remembered that her communicator was shut off before the battle, when she needed total silence in order to execute her plan.
She quickly switched on her communicator again.
As soon as her device was switched on, it started ranging.
"This is Neptune," she answered.
Apparently she was not prepared for the response from the other side.
"Neptune! Where are you?! What did you do to my castle? Where are my people?!" The other side yelled angrily.
This conversation could not possibly turn out to be good.
To be continued…
Note: I was so excited for this battle that I stayed up late a few nights to finish it! But I found it challenging to write senshi fighting scenes so I adopted a military-style battle instead. Hope that turned out okay.