(A/N: VERY IMPORTANT! Ok everyone, before I get my next chapter started, I have an important message for you all. There is a new computer virus going around, and it's not pretty. Norton Anti-Virus is gearing up for this virus! I checked , and it is for real! Tell as many people as you can about it. Here are the detail:

Do not open any message with an attachment entitled "POSTCARD", regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. If you receive a mail called "POSTCARD", even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It's been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

I hope I saved at least one person from getting this virus. Honestly, you would think that people would have better things to do than to create computer viruses. Anyway, now that all the serious stuff is out of the way, on with the story.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 3: A Day in the Sea of Decay

Nausicaä couldn't sleep. Thoughts kept swirling around in her head. She couldn't stop thinking about what Asbel had said before he ran off in a hurry. Such statements weren't uncommon to her. Her people would constantly say that they would do anything for their princess, but Asbel had seemed like he had meant something else.

Something soft and furry rubbed up against her. Nausicaä smiled and petted her little fox-squirrel. "Hey, Teto. You can't sleep either, huh?" The little critter licked her cheek. "Awe, are you worried about me? You're a good friend. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm just confused right now."

She sighed and went to the window, looking out at her sleeping kingdom. She needed to talk to someone that could ease her mind. Normally she would speak to Obaba or Lord Yupa, when he was around. They would usually be able to help her with anything. But it was late, and Obaba was old and needed her sleep, and Lord Yupa had just gotten back from being away for two years, he deserved some time to relax. She could talk to them in the morning, but in the meantime, she was losing a night's worth of sleep.

Deciding that if she wasn't going to be able to get to sleep, she decided to do something useful and headed to her secret lab. The room was filled with the toxic jungle's beautiful plant life, which would otherwise be poisonous to her had she not found a way to purify them. Strangely enough, all it had taken was clean water and soil. This had been a major discovery. After the earth had been polluted by the Seven Days of Fire, all the plant life that had grown had absorbed the toxins in the soil, which produced the toxic spores that were fatal to all but the insects that had evolved to be able to breathe in the poison.

"Someday, everyone will be able to appreciate your beauty without worrying about being poisoned." She said to the plants in the room. She gently touched one of the flowers' soft petals. "Too bad I won't live to see the day, but at least I'll see the start of it."

She thought back to the purified canyon under the toxic forest. She had discovered multiple canyons just like it. The planet was slowly but surely purifying itself. It would take 1,000 years, but it would be done.

"As long as no one interferes." She whispered.

There have been several attempts made by humanity to 'cleanse' the planet by burning the toxic jungle. Nausicaä knew that this was wrong, as well as dangerous. It would do more harm to the earth than good. The Ohmu knew this as well. Any attempts to harm the toxic jungle would send them into a fit of rage that caused them to destroy the jungle's threat. Then the toxic spores would spread over the area they destroyed. So really, any of attempts people made to purify the planet was doing nothing more than making the process take longer.

"Teto, no!" Nausicaä cried, as the little fox-squirrel began pawing at one of the plants, sending nontoxic spores flying around the room. She went over to him and picked him up, scratching behind the fox-squirrel's ears. "Don't do that."

Teto just purred and crawled up onto her shoulder, rubbing against her cheek. Nausicaä chuckled, unable to stay angry at her pet. He was always curious about the plants since he had never been around them when in the wild, lest he be poisoned.

"Maybe I could make a little mask for you." said the princess. "Then you could come with me when I go into the toxic forest." She looked out the window again and smiled. "I think I'll ask Asbel to come with me tomorrow."

Little did she know, Asbel would be sleeping in late tomorrow, for he too was unable to sleep.

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Groaning in frustration, the Pejite prince rolled over, trying to get more comfortable. Well, it wasn't really the comfort that was the problem, he was just plain restless at the moment. He also kept muttering to himself how stupid he had been for saying what he had said to Nausicaä earlier.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one losing sleep over his stupidity. The room's other occupant was being kept awake from all the noise the prince was making.

"Asbel, will you please keep quiet." Lord Yupa begged. "It's been a long time since I've slept in an actual bed, and I would actually like to get some sleep."

Asbel sighed. "I'm sorry, Master. I just can't get to sleep."

Lord Yupa had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm aware of that. Now tell me what the problem is."

"What problem?"

"Asbel…" Lord Yupa sighed. "You are my pupil. Do you not think that I can tell when something is bothering you?"

Asbel realized that he should have known that he couldn't lie to his master. But that didn't mean that he was about to tell the sword master everything. "Just, something happened today that I wish could have been different."

"Ah." Said Lord Yupa, as if he understood everything. "Something with Nausicaä perhaps?"

Asbel blinked. How had he been able to figure that out? "Um… sort of. We were talking, and the prophecy came up, and I may have said something I shouldn't have."

Lord Yupa closed his eyes, hoping to end the conversation and get some sleep. "Don't worry, Nausicaä is very forgiving. Whatever you said, she's already forgiven you."

Asbel shook his head, even though Lord Yupa couldn't see him. "No, I didn't say anything bad… I hope. I just said something that I would have preferred to keep to myself."

Lord Yupa smiled slightly. "Is that why you came running over to me all out of breath?"

Asbel groaned, remembering how he had claimed that Lord Yupa had wanted to see him so he could get away from Nausicaä. "Sort of."

"Well, what did you tell her?"

Asbel blushed. There was no way he was going to say something he regretted twice. "It's nothing. I'll deal with it myself."

Lord Yupa nodded. "Very well. Just do it in the morning and go to sleep now."

Asbel sighed. That was easier said than done.

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Nausicaä stretched as she exited her castle. Teto crawled up her extended limbs and settled on her shoulder, rubbing his furry cheek against hers affectionately. The princess smiled and patted the fox-squirrel's head. She noticed a short distance away a group of people watching something. Curious, she wandered over to them to see what was going on.

Lord Yupa was in the middle of the group, performing morning exercises. Regardless of being kept up late by Asbel, he would always rise with the sun and be unable to get back to sleep.

Nausicaä looked impressed as Lord Yupa's sword swung through the air. Even in his old age, he still had the stability he had as a youth. She wondered if he would be willing to teach her some swordplay. True, she was somewhat skilled in combat, but she had always considered learning more self-defense.

Of course, that was considering he stayed in the valley. As Obaba said, Lord Yupa's destiny involved discovering the true nature of the prophecy. Perhaps he would stay here once the legend truly came to pass. She hoped so, Lord Yupa was like a second father to her. But if he did leave, she would wish him the best of luck with his travels.

This made her think of Asbel. If Lord Yupa left, would he go with him? Lord Yupa was Asbel's master, maybe he would. Nausicaä felt a deep feeling of sadness at the thought of the Pejite prince leaving again. She would very much like for him to stay; Lord Yupa too.

"He's been at it for over an hour." someone next to her said, bringing Nausicaä out of her thoughts. "I wish I could do that."

Nausicaä smiled. For as long as she had known Lord Yupa, which was all her life, he had always taken his swordplay very seriously. He and he father had been the greatest sword masters around. Then came the day Lord Yupa began his search to discover the nature of the legend. Though he wasn't as skilled as Lord Yupa, her father had taught her some swordplay, until the disease of the toxic jungle had made him too weak to continue.

The thought made her frown. If only she had discovered the cure sooner. Then maybe he would have been able to defend himself against the Tolmekians. But it wasn't meant to be. In a way, she had lost both her parents due to the toxic jungle's poison.

It had started with her mother. After she died from the toxic jungle's disease, Nausicaä had begun to try and find a cure. Then her father had come down with the same disease, rendering him unable to get out of bed. She hadn't been able to save them, but at least she could now save others, and was working on finding a vaccine that prevented anyone from catching the toxic jungle's disease to begin with.

Most people would assume that Nausicaä would hate the toxic jungle. She had every right to; it was responsible for her parents' deaths, along with so many others. But she didn't. It was just a natural part of the planet that had a negative impact on people. Nature had evolved and adapted the best it could, and was continuing to do so to make life habitable again for all life, and not just the insects. If anyone was at fault, it was the Giant Warriors. It was them that had nearly wiped out humanity, and it was because of the Seven Days of Fire that the planet was polluted. No one knew where they came from or why they were intent on destroying the earth, but thankfully, their bloodthirsty rampage had ended after only seven days; although that was long enough to nearly return humanity to the stone age.

This made her think of what Asbel had said about his ancestors possibly being the ones that created the Giant Warriors. She didn't see how it was possible, but even if it was true, she held no grudge against him and his people whatsoever. She wasn't going to blame him or his people for what his long dead ancestors did.

She suddenly realized for the first time that Asbel wasn't among them. She looked around the crowd, trying to spot the Pejite prince, but saw no sight of him.

"Is something wrong. Princess?" asked one of the people.

Nausicaä shook her head. "No, I'm just wondering where Asbel is."

"Still sleeping." Lord Yupa replied, pausing in his exercises to answer her. "He normally trains with me, but something was bothering him last night and he didn't get to sleep until late. So I'm letting him sleep in."

With that, he returned to his exercises. Nausicaä tapped her chin, wondering what could have caused the Pejite prince to lose sleep. Could it have been what they were talking about last night? She shrugged. Maybe they could discuss it later, if he was willing to talk, that is.

She went back inside and went to the room Asbel and Lord Yupa were staying in. She suddenly felt very nervous. She didn't know why. She was just going to ask him to come exploring with her in the toxic jungle; although, now that she thought about it, he had been practically living in the Sea of Decay for the past two years.

She shook her head. She had absolutely nothing to be nervous about. What was wrong with two friends spending the day together? Perhaps he could show her what he had learned about the toxic jungle, and she could show him a few things she knew.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock on the door. She paused. What was wrong with her? Why was her heart pounding so hard? It was just Asbel; she shouldn't be this nervous.

She felt a small pressure on her leg. She looked down and saw Teto pushing on her leg. She couldn't help but smiling. "Are you encouraging me?" Teto blinked up at her and squeaked. "It's not like this is a big deal. We haven't had much of a chance to catch up yet. This is just a chance to find out what happened the past two years."

Teto squeaked again and pushed on her leg some more. Nausicaä chuckled and knocked on the door. There was no answer, so she knocked louder.

"Coming." Came Asbel's voice from the other side.

Nausicaä stiffened when she heard his voice. Why was she acting like a giddy teenager? She shook her head to clear it as the door opened. She gasped and blushed when she saw Asbel standing before her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was topless, and Nausicaä couldn't help but notice his firm muscles. She felt her blush deepen.

Asbel moved his hand out of his range of vision and blinked when he saw the princess standing before him. "Nausicaä?" he gasped, surprised to find her here; he had been expecting Lord Yupa.

"Um… hi." She said. Her heart was pounding again, but not from nervousness this time. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come exploring in the toxic jungle… with me."

Asbel felt very exposed, even though it was just his shirt that was missing. Why had he just assumed that it had been his master? How could he have known it was Nausicaä? He really wished he was more descent right now.

Then what she had said registered to him. She wanted him to go exploring with her?

"You don't have to." She said quickly. "I was just wondering if-"

"Sure, sounds great!" he interrupted. "Just give me a few minutes to get ready."

Nausicaä couldn't hide the joyful look on her face. "Great. I'll meet you out front."

"See you there."

He closed the door, and Nausicaä heard him scurrying about to get ready. Cheeks flaming, she hurried away, briefly wondering if she had just asked Asbel out on a date.

"No," she told herself, "we're just friends."

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"You really know you way around her." Asbel noted, as he followed Nausicaä through the toxic jungle.

The princess chuckled. "Of course, I come out here all the time. It's so beautiful and fascinating."

Asbel cocked his head to the side, observing their surroundings. "Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean. Too bad we'll die in minutes if we take our masks off."

"Look past that, Asbel!" Nausicaä cried. "Yes, the spores are dangerous, but just stop and appreciate the beauty in everything around you. It's simply amazing."

Asbel raised an eyebrow. "Toxic spores capable of killing you are amazing?"

Nausicaä sighed and shook her head. "The jungle is alive, Asbel. After the Seven Days of Fire, the earth managed to pull itself back together and flourish once more. It may be deadly now, but it's working on that. It won't be poisonous forever. It's evolving and adapting to sustain life once more."

Asbel crossed his arms and looked around again, suddenly having new appreciation form the toxic jungle. "I guess I never looked at it like that. I guess when you think about it, it is pretty amazing."

"Isn't it!" Nausicaä exclaimed, glad that he was understanding. She walked over to a strange yet beautiful flower. She gently grazed it with her finger. A small shower of spores fell from it, making it look like snow falling from it. "It's so beautiful. I love it here."

"Yeah, it is nice." He chuckled. "Too bad the insects are the only ones that can live here."

"I have as much respect for the insects as I do for people." Nausicaä replied. "They have the deepest respect for the earth and all living things."

Asbel's gaze drifted upwards, to where several giant insects were flying overhead. "I guess I see what you mean about them being respectful to the earth, but they are a bit vicious."

Nausicaä shrugged. "Only when provoked. It's in their nature." She turned to look at him. "Has an Ohmu ever touched you?"

Asbel nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Nausicaä shook her head. "I don't mean just making physical contact with it, I mean has one ever touched you."

The Pejite prince gave her a confused look. "I don't understand what you mean."

"That's a no, then." Nausicaä replied. "Do you remember back when I almost died from the Ohmu stampede?" She received a nod. "Those gold tentacles that they used to carry me, they're also a method of communication. They allowed me to feel what they were feeling and understand them as if I too was an Ohmu, and vice versa."

Asbel looked astounded by this news. "You seriously communicated with them like that?"

Nausicaä nodded. "There's no way to describe the feeling. You have to experience it for yourself."

Asbel glanced back at the insects. "Maybe some other time."

Nausicaä shrugged. "Suit yourself. I can understand your hesitation, but they're not bad creatures. Just leave them alone, and they'll leave you alone."

She turned and wandered further into the jungle. Asbel followed close behind as he thought about what Nausicaä had said. He had always been told to avoid the insects. Even Lord Yupa told him to stay away from the enormous bugs. But Nausicaä actually made contact with them. Perhaps she was right.

"Maybe this way." Nausicaä muttered to herself.

"What was that?" asked Asbel, not hearing her.

"What? Oh?" She chuckled. "Back when I stopped the stampede of Ohmu, I jumped off my old glider. It blew somewhere in the toxic jungle, and I haven't seen it since. I've always tried to find it, although I doubt I will. It's kind of fun though, like a treasure hunt."

Asbel laughed. "Just be careful you don't fall into one of those underground caverns again."

Nausicaä also laughed. "Just stay away from the sand, and you have nothing to worry about. But I've been looking for those caverns. I found several of them already. Some of them even have plant life growing in them. Nonpoisonous plant life. Eventually, all that will replace the toxic forest, and the earth will be balanced once more."

Asbel nodded. "Yeah, it's just too bad it's going to take so long, but I guess it can't be helped." He sighed. "I just wish there was a faster way."

"Progress takes time." Nausicaä replied. "If we rush it, things will just go wrong."

"I know." Asbel replied, think of how his people and the Tolmekians had planned to use the Giant Warrior to burn down the entire Sea of Decay. Now that he thought about it, if they had done that, it would have been no different from the Seven Days of Fire. The earth would have been polluted again, and a new Sea of Decay would have grown in the old one's place. The only thing that using the Giant Warrior would have done was make the earth take another 1,000 years to purify itself.

"This looks good." Said Nausicaä, taking a sample of a toxic plant.

Asbel walked over to her and looked at the sample. "So, you use these spores to grow nonpoisonous plants?"

Nausicaä nodded. "All it takes is clean soil and water."

Abel crossed his arms. "Who would have thought?"

"I was just experimenting with them and I figured it out." She smiled. "You never know what's going to happen when you try new things." She turned to Asbel. "So, do you still not want to try making contact with the insects?"

Asbel sighed. "Do I have to?"

"You scared?" she teased.

Asbel knew she was just kidding and smiled. "Actually, yes. I have a little problem with willingly going up to a creature that will kill me without a second thought."

Nausicaä lightly smacked his shoulder. "I told you they're not like that. Now come on." She grabbed his hand and began pulling him along.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming. You don't have to drag me."

Reluctantly, he let Nausicaä lead him through the toxic jungle until they came across an Ohmu. It was young, but it was still three times bigger than them.

"Hello, Ohmu!" she called.

The Ohmu reacted, turning to the two, of them. It let out a strange moaning noise, that Nausicaä seemed to take as a greeting.

"Um, Nausicaä, I'm not so sure about this." Asbel muttered.

"It's fine." She replied. "As long as we don't make it feel threatened, we're in no danger." She seemed so confident. She turned back to the Ohmu, approaching it with no fear. "Nice to meet you, Ohmu. I'm not sure if I've met you before, but it's always good to make new friends."

The Ohmu moaned again. Nausicaä couldn't understand what it was saying, but she could understand what it meant. It was almost like when a person had a pet for so long, they're eventually able to understand it based upon its movements and the sounds it makes.

The Ohmu began crawling closer. Nausicaä let it come to her. Golden tentacles snaked out of its mouth. The princess held out her hands to it. The tentacles lightly grazed her open palms, giving her its emotions and thoughts, and receiving hers in return.

"There's a good Ohmu." Said Nausicaä. She turned to Asbel. "See, it won't hurt you as long as it doesn't feel threatened."

Asbel hesitantly nodded. "Right, don't let it feel threatened."

Smiling, Nausicaä turned back to the large insect. "Ohmu, I have a friend I would like you to meet. You don't need to feel threatened by him. He's a good person, but he's a little afraid of you, so be a good boy." She turned back to Asbel, motioning for him to come over.

"I don't know." he muttered.

"Come on. It wants to meet you."

Asbel hesitated before finally working up the courage to approach the big bug. He kept close watch on the creature's eyes, afraid that they would turn red at any moment.

"Talk to it." Nausicaä encouraged. "It can understand you."

Feeling very stupid for talking to a bug, Asbel started speaking. "Uh, hi, Ohmu. I really like your jungle, even though the spores in it can kill me."

Nausicaä burst out laughing. Asbel glared at her, and she covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. "I'm sorry." she said. "It's just, what a way to start a conversation."

"I don't know what to say to it."

"Just talk to it like you would talk to me."

Asbel sighed. "I've never really spoken to a bug befo- AH!"

He jumped back as one of the Ohmu's golden tentacles brushed against him.

"Relax." Nausicaä told him. "It's just examining you. Let it get to know you a bit."

Asbel swallowed and nodded. He let the Ohmu slide its tentacles over him. They weren't slimy or unpleasant. Actually, they felt like strands of velvet brushing against his skin.

At that moment, Asbel understood what it meant to be touched by an Ohmu. He suddenly felt very exposed to the large insect before him. He also felt as if he suddenly merged with the Ohmu, as if he was the Ohmu, but also himself. He felt the Ohmu's emotions as if they were his own, and thought its thoughts as if he was thinking them.

The Ohmu was glad that another human had come. It was about time humans began to realize that they weren't just creatures that killed anything that dared to enter their territory. It hoped that more would come, and they could learn to understand each other and live peacefully. It was just as curious about humans as they were of them. They were also fearful. Humans tended to be destructive and reckless. They destroyed what they were afraid of, and acted without thinking. Didn't they know that everything would turn out all right? Things may seem bad now, but all will be well again. If only humans would stop interfering with nature, then things could progress as they should. Hopefully, more humans, like these two, would come and learn to the ways of the earth again, just as they had so long ago. These two humans were the first step in that direction. Others will be encouraged by them, and the connection between mankind and the earth will be come once again.

The strange sensation of being connected to the Ohmu left Asbel as the insect removed its tentacles. The Pejite prince felt slightly dazed from the strange union he and the Ohmu had once had.

Nausicaä came up to him, giving him an expected look. "Well, how do you feel?"

Asbel struggled to find his voice. "Wow… that was… wow."

Nausicaä chuckled. "My thoughts exactly when I was first touched. There are no words to describe it."

"I'll say." Asbel agreed. "It was almost as if I was the Ohmu. I think I understand more now."

Nausicaä smiled. "I'm glad."

(A/N: Wasn't that sweet. I was trying to do something similar to the part of the movie when Nausicaä and the others crashed into the Ohmu nest and they communicated with her, just before she had to go rescue Asbel. And how about the beginning of the chapter? Can you say denial? But things are going to start getting complicated, so leave me a review and I'll get to work on the next chapter.)