I know this took forever to put up, and I got all my excuses put down on the bottom. I wanna just get on to the chappie ASAP, so thanks to all who reviewed, you are probably the ONLY reason I didn't just forget about this fic, so thank you… -bows to you- and I realize I was down playing Nausicaä's personality, so this chappie is to try to make up for it. To be honest, I don't know when I'm gunna end this chappie, so there may or may not be things in it that develop the story more and the scene AsbelFan001 requested may or may not be here as well, but for all that it lacks I will try to make up in the next chapter which I will start writing as soon as I finish this one. Hopefully the next update won't take so long… so yah… ON WARD I TYPE!
Disclaimer: incase anyone hasn't realized it yet, I DO NOT OWN Nausicaä! Though I do own the DVD… oh! And in the second (very long) paragraph, I just altered a couple lyrics from a song called unremember, which I also do not own, though I would like to cuz it's an awesome song. I used it in one of my other fics too. And I'm rambling again… ignore me, please…
Last chapter: plans are made on how to show the people the room, Amiko and Obaba are shown the room, and Asbel suggests that Nausicaä goes and talks to the Ohmu to gain permission from them to land the large airships in the toxic jungle so they may set up residence there.
Chapter 4: the strength of a queen
Nausicaä had gotten up early that day for the flight to the Toxic Jungle. She had been up before anyone else, and left as soon as she could, leaving a few short notes to Obaba, Lord Yupa, Amiko, and of course Asbel, explaining where she was and leaving Amiko in charge while she was gone. She was currently flying over the Acid Lake, thinking about the day before.
"I can do this." She said out loud to herself as she stared at the water below her as she sped over it, her reflection shimmering in the rippling water. "I have been leading my people for two years now, and I have never faltered before." She sighed loudly before continuing her thoughts, "I guess the pressure really is getting to me. I can't think straight anymore. This flight is exactly what I needed to clear my head. I haven't had a chance to just think things out like I should. The truth is, I really don't want to leave the valley, but at the same time, I know it's the only way I can save the people and myself." She slowed her pace and looked at the sleeves of her dress. It was the stained blue dress from the day she had died. "I have died for them, and I would die again if I thought it would help them. Though for some reason, it feels almost like a part of me is dieing… so much of my life happened back there… both good things and bad… and… and father and mother are buried there. If I leave, I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to find my way back to their graves, because I know that it will be consumed by the jungle very soon, and there's nothing that I can do about it. But I can't look back now. They're dead now, and there's nothing I can do about that either, so I might as well except it and get on with my life. It shouldn't be this hard, but it is. No mater how I try, some things I can't change… I wish I could just forget every thing I've been through, but I'm quickly finding out that that's impossible to do… I can't un-love them…" she said, trailing off as Teto climbed out of the pocket that had been put in the dress for him and stared up into her eyes that had been covered by the mask she was wearing.
"You're right Teto, I have no right to feel sorry for myself. There are so many people out there who have it much worse than I do, and they never complain, and besides, I'm a queen now, I need to be strong, not only for myself, but for them too. I can't give in. I can do this, and if times get bad, I know that Asbel will be right there with me, no matter what happens. So will Lord Yupa, Obaba, and Amiko too. They're all there for me, and have helped me out so much. I know that I can do this. I WILL do this." She said, strength and conviction heavily laden in the tones of her voice. That conviction filled her whole being as she raced onward towards the Jungle, ready for the encounter she was about to have with the Ohmu that would ultimately decide the fate of her people and herself.
About twenty minutes later Nausicaä arrived in the Toxic Jungle. She flew her glider down into the lake that she had first met with the Ohmu, after the barge had detached from the Toulmakian air ships. She hoped that they would come to her, but if they didn't she would go looking for them throughout the jungle. She refused to go home until she had everything sorted out. She had already determined that they could read her thoughts, so if she concentrated solely on the conversation she wanted to have, she knew that they could talk to her as well. She subconsciously recalled that day when one of the Ohmu had told her that Asbel was still alive. Of course at the time she didn't even know who he was. In the two years they had known each other she had never felt closer to anyone. She felt as if she could tell him anything, and that he would always understand. He seemed to be able to read her thoughts just as well as she herself could, and on occasions Nausicaä wondered if he could actually read them better than her. it had been like an instant connection that she had with him. They had bee through so much together, and she knew that there would be more to come.
She had been wanting for about ten minutes and decided to leave, but just as she got in position to take off, she saw a ripple moving towards her in the water, and several large eyes surfacing as it drew near. The Ohmu were coming. She slowly stood up again, careful not to tip the balance of the small glider and fall into the water, stretching her arms out wide to welcome the searching golden antenna that slowly unfolded from the mouth of the Ohmu.
Suddenly she found herself back in the golden field she always seemed to return to in her dreams. In front of her were five Ohmu, and though they did not speak, she heard the strong, slightly crackling, voices that belonged to them sound in her head.
"Nausicaä, it is good to see you again, our child."
"I am glad to see you too. I have missed you all so much. But there is another reason I am here as well."
"Yes, we figured as much. What is it?"
"you see, since my father died, I have become queen, so I am now responsible for the safety of my people. Sadly, the toxins that the jungle produces have been slowly killing them. We have lost so many lives to it. I do not wish to get rid of it, but rather I believe that it would be safer for us to live beneath the jungle, where the water, air, and soil is pure. I promise that we would not introduce any toxins to the environment, we would simply farm and live there like we live back at the valley. I realize that I will need your permission to do this, however, as you are the main guardians of this place and it is your job to protect it, just as it is my duty to protect my people. Please, Ohmu, allow my people to live here with you in peace and harmony. In return you may ask anything of us, and we will try our best to give it to you."
"indeed. We understand your plight, but as you say it is our duty to protect this land, but we know you, and we are well aware that you will do no damage to this land. Just know that you will not be able to build your buildings with whirling sticks (1) down there."
"Yes, I thought as much. We can get by with other methods of doing things that we used the wind mills for. I believe everyone will be willing to work harder in exchange for the survival of those who die each year from the jungle's toxins. Thank you Ohmu, you are so very gracious."
"We will need to know when to expect you so as to make certain you are not attacked by any of the other inhabitants of this land (2)."
"Indeed. I understand perfectly. I intended to move everyone out in two weeks, and we would arrive then. We may have to make two trips though in order to bring over all the people as well as their belongings and tools for farming as well as cotton seeds to plant so we can harvest cotton for our clothes and seeds for our food crops. I hope these things will not impose upon the life you live here, and I do not want to disrupt the balance you have restored here. Will these things be troublesome to you?"
"so long as you or your people do not introduce any toxins into the clean environment we have down below I see no problem with it. However, any fires you make to cook your food will have to be inside the buildings you make and must be very small so the smoke does not lay heavy in the air. There is no wind down there to blow it out, so you will have to be very careful about that. Two weeks should be plenty of time to inform the other inhabitants of your arrival. May you travel safely, Nausicaä, and may your people prosper."
Suddenly she found herself back at the lake, the golden antenna of the ohmu unwrapping from around her body as they withdrew back into their underwater nests.
"Thank you Ohmu, thank you so much." She said as she prepared to leave once more on her glider. She couldn't wait to tell Asbel and the others the good news.
(1): I don't think the Ohmu will know the word 'wind mill' so I put it in as buildings with whirling sticks.
(2): the insects. I don't think that the Ohmu would refer to them that way as they too are insects and it might be considered offending. I don't know, cuz I'm not an insect, but it's just a guess on my part.
A/N: I hope I didn't rush the thing with Nausicaä and the Ohmu too much. I tried my best to use this chapter to concentrate more on Nausicaä than anything else, so I really hope it turned out ok. Once again, sorry for the ginromiously long wait (over a moth! That can't be good!), but my muse decided to focus more on my newest fic I've been working on, and in the writing of that I kinda forgot about this fic and my other one. Oops! Let me know if you like how this turned out, or if you didn't like how it turned out, or if you want to see a certain scene in here. I will try my best to apply anything you have to suggest.
