(A/N: Sorry this took so long. I've been very busy lately I hope this chapter makes up for my lack of updating.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 15: The Fall of a Prince

The miniature ship ride would have been relaxing if it hadn't been heading for the toxic jungle. Nausicaä and Asbel knew that this would be their last trip here if Ved was really going to abandon them. They would only last a few minutes before the toxic spores killed them. They didn't bother struggling, they knew it was useless. They were surrounded by nine guards, each of them armed.

"This will be good." Ved said, and the ship came to a stop. The Kalvandir prince turned to his two prisoners and gave them a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this, really I am."

Nausicaä glared at him. "Save it. You're not sorry, so stop pretending that you are."

Ved shook his head. "You're mistaking, dearest Nausicaä. I will have trouble sleeping tonight having to do this."

Asbel snorted. "Well we would hate for you to have our deaths on your conscience. Murderer."

Ved sighed. "I'm not a murderer. I wouldn't just flat out kill you. I am going to give you a chance to survive."

Nausicaä and Asbel gave him a questioning look. Ved snapped his fingers and one of the guards stepped forward holding gasmasks. However, these were just regular masks with a limited supply of air rather than the ones that filtered out the toxic spores.

"These should give you about two hours of air, and I pray that you'll be able to find a way to save yourself by then."

Asbel gave him the dirtiest look he could muster. "You call that giving us a chance to survive? It will take at least a day to get out of the toxic jungle. You're just mocking us and giving us a false chance of hope."

Ved shrugged. "Look at it however you want, but it will make me feel much better knowing that I didn't just come right out and kill you."

"It's the same thing." Nausicaä seethed. "You might as well just let us stay on board for two hours and then shoot us."

"How crude." Ved commented. "I couldn't bare to see the look of death on your beautiful face." He nodded to the guards. They handed Nausicaä and Asbel the masks as they put on their own. "Best of luck."

Nausicaä and Asbel were forced out of the ship and had to watch as the Kalvandirs took off without them.

"Sire, wouldn't it have been better to simply kill them right now?" one of the guards asked.

Ved crossed his arms. "Perhaps, but I don't want innocent blood on my hands. And besides, it's not like they can escape."

As the ship faded in the distance, Nausicaä and Asbel had already begun moving. This was unknown territory for them, for neither had been in this area of the toxic jungle.

"I hope there's one of those underground caves near here." said Asbel.

"I'm sure there are." Nausicaä replied. "They circle all over the planet. The question is if we'll be able to find an entrance before our oxygen runs out. There's no way we'll be able to dig down to one in time."

"Then we'll have to refill our tanks and hope to make it to the next one before our supplies runs out." Asbel finished. He sighed. "Do you think we can make it all the out of the jungle?"

Nausicaä wanted to say that they would make it, but truth be told, she was really having doubts.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

For doing something that Ved claimed was very hard for him to do, he certainly was in a good mood. Everything may not have gone according to plan, but things were going his way now.

"Are they gathering?" he asked.

Ken nodded. "Yes, sire. I believe they're all here."

A wicked smile crept up Ved's face. "Excellent. I guess I better give them the 'bad' news."

Again the short man nodded. "If you say so, sire." He looked worried. "But if they find out the truth-"

"Please." Ved interrupted. "My plan is flawless. I doubt Nausicaä and Asbel's bodies will ever be found. They might even be eaten by an insect." He snickered. "At least they'll have their last few moments alone together. Being at the last few moments of their lives will probably get them to confess their feelings to each other. That will be the happiest moment of their lives. So you see, I'm not such a bad guy."

"I never claimed you to be a bad person, sire. I'm just worried someone might find out the truth."

Ved cut his eyes at him. "And how would that happen?" he asked coldly. "Only my people are aware of what truly happened. Are you saying that they may betray me?"

"No, of course not, your maj-"

"Perhaps you're thinking of betraying me."

Ken looked fearful. "Sire, I would never!"

Ved smirked. "Then there is no problem."

His tone indicated that the conversation was over and he exited the room. It was now time to tell the people of the Valley of the Wind what had become of their beloved princess. He had called an urgent meeting regarding Nausicaä that everyone, both Kalvandir and Valley of the Wind citizens, must attend. Soon they would all bow down to him.

He stepped out of his airship and looked at all the people before him, the Kalvandirs on one side the people of the Valley of the Wind on the other. Ved had to hide his smirk as he put on his most depressing expression and began his well practice speech.

"Friends, I have called you here today, because a terrible event has occurred." He sighed sadly and lowered his head. "This is a very sad time, and I regret to inform you that… that… both Princess Nausicaä and Prince Asbel… are dead."

He paused, letting the information settle in. He waited for the reaction and it came moments later. First came the collapsing part, where several people lost the feeling in their legs from the shock. Then came the gasps and disbelief shaking of the head, followed by the tears and the screaming in pain for their loss. Then, of course, came the two questions he knew would come. "Why?" and "How?"

Ved took a deep breath. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but it is the truth. It happened when Nausicaä and I went in search of Asbel. We followed his trail deep into the toxic jungle. When we found him, he was being attacked by the insects. Such a rage they were in that not even Nausicaä or I could stop them. Asbel fell before we could stop them. Then they turned on us. I did everything I could, but Nausicaä was wounded badly. In that instant, the insects seemed to realize who she was and their rage subsided, but it was too late." He pretended to wipe away tears. "In her last few moments, she begged me to save the earth, to fulfill the prophecy, and lead society out of the darkness." He looked at his hands. "I held her as she breathed her last breath. She… died in my arms. And as her heart stopped beating, the insects, they turned to me, and they acknowledged me as the one in the legend. And looking into Nausicaä's beautiful lifeless face, I knew what I had to do." He bowed his head to hide his face. "Then the insects took her body from me. They took her and Asbel and held them in the air, carrying them deep into the toxic jungle. That was the last I saw of them. Though I now know who I truly am, I still grieve greatly for the loss of my good friend Asbel and my beloved Nausicaä. And I will do what ever I must to see that their dream is realized. So, my friends, let us bow our heads and have a moment of silence for our beloved Nausicaä and Asbel."

Everyone fell silent to give their respects. The only sound was the silent weeping of the people and the howl of the wind.

But the silence was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone looked up to see who the rude inconsiderate person was that dared to disrupt this moment of silence was. Several mouths dropped open as they spotted Lord Yupa calmly walking closer to Ved, his hands coming together again and again.

"Lord Yupa?" someone in the crowd said, shocked by the sword master's disrespect.

"Very good, your highness," said Lord Yupa calmly, "very good. You certainly put a lot of time and effort to pull through with this plan."

Ved's eyes narrowed as he gave Lord Yupa an angry look. "What are you talking about? How dare you interrupted this moment of silence."

"Oh stop it!" Lord Yupa shouted, his raised voice actually rendering the Kalvandir prince silent. He pointed an accusing finger at him. "I know all about it! I know of your plan. You planned to fool us all into thinking that you were the prophesized one so you could get the world to follow you."

There were shocked gasps all around. Ved's expression was that of a dear caught in the headlights, but he got over his shock and became outraged. "How dare you! Lord Yupa, how could you say such-"

"Drop the act!" Lord Yupa interrupted. "I know what you've done. When I became aware of your plan, I alerted Asbel. He went to investigate on his own without me and got caught. I told Nausicaä what I knew and she went in search of Asbel, only to be caught as well." His angry gaze burned into Ved's glaring eyes. "I was on the ship. I heard everything. I know about your little science experiment. And I know what you did to Nausicaä and Asbel. You took them to the toxic jungle and abandoned them there!"

There were more shocked gasps from the people. The Kalvandirs began backing away from the people of the Valley of the Wind, who were becoming very angry.

Ved crossed his arms and glared at Lord Yupa. "You have no proof of any of this. And I can't believe you would use such lies. I know you, Lord Yupa. You're destiny has been to solve the secrets of the prophecy. Do you feel like your purpose in life will end once the legend has come to pass? Do you fear losing your purpose so much that you'll make such an accusation? How could you speak such lies?"

"Lies you say?" It was not Lord Yupa that spoke, but Obaba, who moved forward to join the sword master. "If these are indeed lies, we will know." Her blind eyes glared at Ved, or where she assumed he was. "For many years, I have been praying for the legend to come to pass. Whether it was you or not, I was ready to accept it. But now we are faced with two stories. One from a very possible candidate for the one in the prophecy, and the famous sword master Lord Yupa. Such a decision can be hard to decide, especially with the proof you have given us." She smiled. "But you are forgetting one very important thing. We of the Valley of the Wind know Lord Yupa. We know he is an honorable and trustworthy man who thinks of others before himself." She pointed an accusing finger at Ved. "But we do not know you! And I will believe Lord Yupa if he were to tell me that I shall regain my sight before I believe you over him!"

"Yeah, that's right!" someone cried.

"We know Lord Yupa, we trust him!"

"It's you who are the strangers! You're the ones we can't trust!"

Ved was glaring at the people before him with utmost hatred. He knew now that the plan was a failure. Lord Yupa had ruined it. Everything was for naught now. He would never be accepted as the prophesized one.

You… you…"

Words failed him. And when the people began moving towards him, he called for his guards. They moved to defend their prince, their guns stopping the people in their tracks. But the Kalvandirs were greatly outnumbered. If the people attacked, they would no doubt win the fight.

"You've made a grave mistake, Lord Yupa." Ved seethed. "By accepting me, things would have been settled peacefully, but now you've forced my hand." His fists clenched together tightly. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, but you're about to find out. You've brought this upon yourselves."

He spun on his heels and retreated back into the ship. The Kalvandirs followed their prince back on board. Several of the people of the Valley of the Wind ran to their homes to get weapons to defend themselves should the Kalvandirs attack.

But there was no attack. Ved had ordered his people to take the ship into the toxic jungle. If the people of the Valley of the Wind were going to defy him, then he would remove them.

On the ground, Lord Yupa and Obaba remained in the same place they were in since the Kalvandir ship took off.

"Did I do the right thing, Obaba?" Lord Yupa asked. "I fear that the people of the Valley of the Wind will suffer Ved's wrath."

Obaba sighed. "The people know what they face. They stand for truth, justice, and peace. They will die for it if need be. You may have shown them the truth, but they made the decision for themselves." She could sense that Lord Yupa was still uneasy. "Have faith, Lord Yupa. Nausicaä and Asbel will return."

Lord Yupa's eyes settled on the toxic jungle. "I know."

(A/N: Nausicaä and Asbel are on their own in the toxic jungle. They're only hope is to make it from oxygen cave to oxygen cave to refill their air supplies. But on a brighter note, Ved's plan is a failure. The people know he's a fake. But Ved isn't finished yet. He has a backup plan. Remember, he has a mutant Ohmu that can control the others in his power. And don't forget about that thing I mentioned that will be important later. Have you found it yet? If not, you'll see what it is next chapter. See you then. And your fee for this chapter is a review from each of you.)