(A/N: Big news. For those of you, like me, who are big Miyazaki fans, I got good news for you. I just discovered a manga that was done by Miyazaki himself. It's called 'Shuna no Tabi' a.k.a. 'The Journey of Shuna' It's a short, but great story, and I suggest reading it. It can be found at 'Manga fox . com'; just type in the title under Search. I'm planning on writing a story on it and I'm already brainstorming ideas. I guess you could keep a look out at my profile to see if I do start one. With that said, here's the next chapter. It's really long, but I guess that's a good thing.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 17: The Insect Stampede

They were coming, just as they had two years ago. The Ohmu were storming towards the Valley of the Wind. And not just the Ohmu, but insects of all kinds were charging forward to destroy all within their path. Not due to a blinding rage of a great injustice, but because a deranged prince who was mad for power was driving them towards the innocents that had refused to accept his lies. Now that they knew the truth, Ved had decided to wipe them out so his lie would never be exposed.

"I have never seen so many insects in my life." Lord Yupa murmured.

For as far as he could see, the insects were coming, by land and by air. They were still a few miles away, but due to the amount, they could still be seen rushing out of the Sea of Decay like a sea of death themselves. A purple light emitted from them as their eyes flickered from blue to red in their state of confusion.

"What are we going to do?" a villager asked. "It's just like what happened two years ago. Only this time there's no way to stop them."

"Don't say that!" another cried. "The princess will save us, just as she did last time."

"The princess is dead. That madman killed her."

"No!" a child shouted, tears pouring down their eyes. "The princess can't be dead! She can't be! Not the princess!"

"Everyone be silent!" Obaba said, talking over everyone. "We must have faith. I believe that the legend will come to pass and bring forth our salvation. We must have faith. We must believe. Nausicaä will find a way."

Though some people looked hopeful, a handful of others still looked terrified.

"But what if we don't survive?" asked one of the doubters. "Even if the princess is alive and the legend does come to pass, what if we still perish here and now?"

Obaba was silent for a moment, deciding her next words carefully. "If that be the case, all we can do is pray that the future will hold less causalities."

That was not what they wanted to hear. Several people began running around in a panic while others embraced their loved ones and wept.

"We must take to the skies!" someone shouted. "Get as many people in the ships as possible and fly away."

Lord Yupa shook his head. "It won't work. Ved has control of the insects in the sky as well. They'll take down all the ships. We can't fight, nor can we run. All we can do is wait and hope."

He turned back to the charging insects. His eyes searched the airborne ones for sight of the Kalvandir ship. Either it was in some safe location away from the insects, or it was hidden in the cloud of flying bugs. He suspected the former; the Kalvandirs wouldn't want to be near the insects while they were in a hostile state.

What Lord Yupa was really curious about was where Ved was. He had a feeling that the Kalvandir prince would be near his little science experiment. Which made him curious about the mutant Ohmu's control over the other insects. How far did its range of control go? If it was limited, then perhaps it was also in the stampede of insects. If it was, and Ved was with it, then perhaps he could somehow get to the Kalvandir prince and eliminate him.

Sighing, Lord Yupa closed his eyes. He really hated killing, but Ved was giving him no choice. It was clear that the prince was mad and would stop at nothing to get his way. He was already about to wipe out their entire kingdom just so he could keep his dirty little secret.

Lord Yupa wasn't stupid. He knew that if Ved was somewhere in that stampede that getting to him would be suicide. He just hoped that he would be able to take down the psychotic prince and put an end to his evil ways, even if it meant losing his life in the process.

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As it turned out, Ved was in the stampede of insects. Towering above the others, even the largest of Ohmu, the mutant insect that he had created was charging with all the others; its normally black eyes flicker red as Ved controlled it.

Lord Yupa had been correct in his assumption about the insect's range of control. It did only reach so far. And the Kalvandir airship couldn't possibly fly in the cloud of insects flying overhead. Ved had been forced to release his little science experiment to keep it close enough to the other insects to maintain control. Once the Valley of the wind was reduced to nothing, the mutant Ohmu would find itself back in its prison.

In the meantime, it was charging with all the others towards its destination. Its antenna rubbed together furiously as it continued to send off electrical signals and sound waves that controlled the other insects.

And Ved needed to be close by to control his mutant insect. He stood atop of his little science experiment, hanging onto the large device drilled into the insect's brain that fed its own electrical currents and sound waves that caused it to behave as it did. In his hands he held a large very complex remote that set the settings of the mind-controlling device. His eyes were fixed ahead on the approaching Valley of the Wind. Everyone and everything would be flattened beneath his insect stampede. Then he would move onto the next closet kingdom and declare himself as the prophesized one, using his control over the insects as proof, just as he had originally fooled the people of the Valley of the Wind. And should anyone defy him, he would have that kingdom trampled as well.

After that, he would have the entire toxic jungle burned to the ground. And with his little science experiment to control the insects, he needn't worry about being attacked by any of them.

"Things are finally looking up." He said to himself with a smirk. "I should have done this to begin with."

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Little did Ved know that Nausicaä and Asbel were closing in behind him. They may have caught up with him sooner had it not been for all the deranged flying insects that they constantly had to dodge. Luckily for them the glider was small enough for them to fly through the cloud of bugs. Some of them attacked, but they managed to lose them among the other insects.

"We have to hurry!" Nausicaä cried. "Ved's going to destroy the valley!"

"Don't worry, we'll stop him." Asbel insisted, although he had no idea how.

The seemingly endless flow of insects went on in every direction. The toxic jungle was behind them, but for as far as they could see, the insects were swarming. If only one of them could tell them where Ved was.

"That's it!" Asbel cried.

"What?" asked Nausicaä worriedly.

Asbel didn't bother to explain. "Nausicaä, bring us closer to one of the Ohmu."

"What are you planning?"

"Just do it. Trust me."

Hoping he had some sort of plan, Nausicaä steered the glider towards one of the rampaging Ohmu. To her horror, Asbel jumped off the glider onto the Ohmu as soon as they were close enough to it.

"Asbel, what are you DOING?" she cried.

The Pejite prince ignored her as he grabbed onto the small legs right by the Ohmu's mouth. It took all his strength to hold on as they constantly moved as the Ohmu ran. The constant moving was making him sick, but he was a trained pilot, he knew how to beat nausea.

"Hey Ohmu, over here!" he cried, trying to get the insect's attention. "Talk to me!"

It didn't take long to get the Ohmu to notice him. Golden tentacles shot out of its mouth and wrapped around Asbel. But not in the light caress that it normally did. No, this time the tentacles were rough and aggressive, trying to squeeze the life out of Asbel.

Regardless of the life squeezing tentacles, Asbel got what he wanted as he became one with the Ohmu. The confusion and anger it felt filled him. He knew what he had to do. Kill the humans. Kill them all. Leave not one alive. He didn't want to, but he also did want to. A stronger force was driving him to do this no matter how hard he tried to resist. He wasn't even sure which part of him was the real him. Was it the part that was demanding that he kill, or was it the part of him that was resisting. Either way, something was telling him that this was what must be done, like it or not. And that signal was coming from up ahead. Right over… there!

Then the connection broke. Asbel's head cleared as he realized that Nausicaä had somehow freed him from the Ohmu's grasp and was pulling him back onto the glider.

"What were you doing?" she shouted, her eyes full of worry. "Are you trying to get killed?"

Asbel rubbed his head. The connection with that Ohmu had left him with a monstrous headache. No, make that a migraine.

"Asbel!"

He shook his head. "Sorry, but it was the only thing I could think of." His eyes narrowed. "I know where the signal is coming from."

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Excitement shined in Ved's eyes as the Valley of the Wind got closer and closer. Nothing could stop him now. Soon the people that had defied him would pay. It was a shame that so many had to die, but sacrifices needed to be. He would make it up by turning this world into a utopia, his utopia. And if people didn't like it, then they could find their own utopia in death.

"VED!"

The Kalvandir prince's eyes widened as he heard his name being called. Turning around, his eyes confirmed what his ears had heard. Flying just a few yards away were Nausicaä and Asbel. They both leapt of the glider and landed on the Ohmu, glaring at him defiantly.

"Stop this!" Nausicaä cried.

Ved couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed them and looked again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But he wasn't. Standing before him were the two people he had abandoned in the toxic jungle.

"It can't be." He whispered. Then his voice rose. It's not possible! You're dead! You can't be alive!"

Asbel tore of his air mask and tossed the air tank out of the way. "So you admit that you didn't think we had a chance. That's the same as killing us. Just like you're about to kill the people of the Valley of the Wind."

Ved got over his shock and shook his head. "I am not a murderer. I was not going to kill you, the toxic jungle was. And I'm not going to kill the people of the Valley of the Wind, the insects are."

"But you're making them do it!" Nausicaä shouted. "That's the same thing!"

"I beg to differ."

"Then you have a sick mind! Now stop these insects!"

As Nausicaä shouted at the Kalvandir prince, Asbel's gaze shifted towards the large device buried into the insect's head. It was very large, nearly half his size, and went who knows how deep into the poor insect's head. There didn't appear to be any buttons or switches or anything on it. Then his gaze shifted to the remote in Ved's hands.

"Give us the remote, Ved." He demanded.

The Kalvandir prince just laughed. "No, I don't think so. Besides, you have no idea how to use this."

"We'll figure it out." Asbel said, and charged forward.

Ved whipped out his sword and pointed it at Asbel, stopping the Pejite prince in his tracks. "Don't try it, Asbel. You know you can't beat me. Remember our duels? This time you're not even armed. And any armor you may have will be useless; this is an Ohmu shell sword."

Asbel looked at the sword. As much as he hated to admit it, if he tried to attack Ved, he would be cut down. Ved was a very good swordsman, and, as he pointed out, Asbel had no weapon.

"Please don't do this." he begged. "Just stop this and we can talk it through."

"There's nothing to talk about." Ved insisted.

"You can't kill everyone."

"But I can. And knowing that with their deaths I will be able to lead society into the light will allow me to sleep at night."

Asbel's fists clenched. He wanted so badly to hit the insane prince, but knew that he couldn't get any closer without feeling Ved's blade.

"It's not your place to do that." He reasoned. "That job falls to Nausicaä and the prophesized."

Ved laughed. "And who is this prophesized one? Perhaps it is me. Who are you to say whether I am or am not the one destined to save the human race?"

"Who are you to decide to kill innocent people for your own gain?"

Ved shook his head. "It's for the greater good."

"IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GREED! You're just using the whole 'greater good' things as an illusion to get what you want."

Ved just smirked. "You're words fall on deaf ears, Asbel. And if you have any master plan to stop this stampede, you better use it now," he glanced over his shoulder at the Valley of the Wind, "because we're getting close to the Valley."

Asbel was about to use Ved's turn of the head to his advantage and attack, but Nausicaä beat him to it. She ran right past Asbel and raised her air tank, ready to bring it down on Ved's head as hard as she could.

Ved caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and dodged the blow. He swung his sword, already having convinced himself that it would be the sword and not him that would kill her so he wouldn't have her death on his conscience.

Nausicaä jumped back and held out the air tank. Ved's sword sliced through it rather easily. There was an eruption of air that threw both prince and princess backwards. When Ved sat up, he saw to his horror that the remote to controlling his insect was smashed.

"No!" he cried. "Do you realize what you've done? Now they'll just keep stampeding! I can't stop them!"

Nausicaä's face took on a terrified expression. She hadn't meant to smash the remote. If that was the only way to stop the insects, then she just doomed her people.

"Then we have no choice." Asbel growled, turning is attention to the device buried in the insect's head. "We have to smash it."

He ran towards the device and slammed into it as hard as he could. He gasped in pain and rubbed his sore arm. The device hadn't even moved or dented. What was it made of? Not Ohmu shell, but definitely some kind of metal.

Nausicaä repeated his action, slamming into the device, accomplishing nothing. She then began hammering it with the cut in half air tank, hoping to make some sort of damage.

"You're not stopping them!" Ved cried. He stood up and looked at the two of them with a crazed look in his eyes. "It took us years to create that device and to get it working perfectly! You're not destroying it now!"

He charged at them, sword raised. He stabbed forward and the two of them jumped back at the last minute. Ved's sword cut straight through the device and remained buried in it. Sparks crackled and smoke began rising as the device took on internal damage.

The mutant insect stopped in its tracks and wailed loudly. It began shaking itself violently, like it was in pain.

Asbel and Nausicaä laid flat on their stomachs, keeping a firm grasp on the insect's plated shell. Even then they nearly got thrown off. Ved, on the other hand, had been standing, holding onto the sword buried into the device. He went flying off the insect's body and landed on the ground, right in the path of a stampeding Ohmu. He wasn't even aware of the danger before the giant insect trampled over him, followed by another and another until there was nothing left of the Kalvandir prince.

The mutant insect finally stopped thrashing around, but it continued trembling. Its antenna stopped moving in the fashion Ved had commanded it to move them in, but continued rubbing together. The other insects stopped stampeding and began moving around in a state of confusion as they received mixed signals from the mutant one.

"Nausicaä, you ok?" asked Asbel. He felt dizzy from the Ohmu's violent movements.

Nausicaä sat up, daring to let going of the Ohmu's shell. "I think so. Where's Ved?" her eyes settled on the smoking device. Though it was damaged, it was still sending signals to the insect. Who knew how it would react? "You know what, forget about him. We have to get that thing out of the insect before it does something unpredictable."

"I got it." Asbel replied.

He ran over to the device again and slammed into it, just as he did before. At least this time it budged. Nausicaä noticed the movement and went over to help.

"Let's see if we can pull it out." She said.

She and Asbel got a grip and pulled as hard as they could. The device rose slightly and the insect wailed in pain.

"Keep going!" Nausicaä cried.

But Asbel let go. "It's not going to work like this." He removed the sword from the device. "Sorry about this." he said sincerely to the insect.

He stabbed the sword into the Ohmu's hard shell and began carving around the device. Nausicaä continued pulling on the device, trying to pull it out. The device began to come out and blood sprayed out of the gaping hole, bathing the two humans. The insects wailed loudly and shook itself again. Both Asbel and Nausicaä held on for dear life until the insect stopped its violent movements.

"You ok?" Asbel asked.

Nausicaä wiped the blood off her face and nodded. "I'm fine, don't stop."

They began again. Asben shoved the sword into the device and pushed down, trying to force the device up and out. The device came out some more and the insect cried and shook itself again. This time Nausicaä was unable to hold on due to the blood making her grip slippery. She didn't fall off the Ohmu completely, for that would have been a long drop, but tumbled down its side before she managed to grab onto one of its plates.

"Nausicaä!" Asbel cried, abandoning his attempt to remove the device.

"I'm fine!" he heard her cry. "Just help the insect!"

"But-"

"Help it before it goes wild again!"

Reluctantly, Asbel turned back to the device and began pulling on it. The blood made it slippery and difficult to get a grip, but he still felt it move. From the amount it budged, it felt like it was nearly free.

"Almost there." He said through clenched teeth.

The device came out some more and the Ohmu jumped, rearing back on its hind legs. The movement caused the device to finally come free and it went flying. Unfortunately, Asbel went with it.

"ASBEL!" Nausicaä cried, watching him go flying, and disappearing behind an Ohmu.

Regardless of the height, she let go of the plate she was holding onto and landed on the ground. Grunting in pain, she immediately got to her feet and ran in the direction she saw Asbel fly in.

'Please be ok, please be ok.' She silently prayed.

But when she reached him, she saw that he was not ok. He lay motionless on the ground, crushed beneath the device that had been buried in the insect's head. His own red blood mixed with the insect's blue blood, making a purple mixture.

Nausicaä ran to him and knelt by his still form. "Oh no, please no." she whispered. "Asbel, please wake up."

She felt for a pulse. But to her horror, she couldn't find one.

"Asbel," she whispered, "you can't die. You can't. I… I…"

Something touched her shoulder. She turned around to find the mutant insect looking at her. Its eyes were black again, indicating that its fury had subsided. In fact, all the insects' eyes had turned to their normal color, and they were all watching her.

Nausicaä's mouth opened and closed as she tried to speak. The mutant insect's tentacles came out of its mouth; they were more of a reddish copper color rather than gold, and they lightly brushed against her forehead.

There was a flash of light as insect and human minds merged and a memory surfaced.

"She's got a baby Ohmu!" a man gasped.

"The insects have bewitched her!" exclaimed another.

Then a gentler voice said, "Hand it over, child."

A young girl with red hair tied in pigtails clutched a baby Ohmu to her chest protectively. "No, it hasn't done anything wrong."

"Insects and humans cannot live in the same world. You know that."

The Ohmu was pried from the girl's hands and carried off. The girl could do nothing but cry and beg. "Don't kill it! Please don't kill it!"

Nausicaä's eyes were wide as she recognized the memory. But then it changed once again as a new memory surfaced.

"I said I want it!" a young boy demanded.

The man holding the baby Ohmu gave the boy an uncertain look. "Prince Ved, I don't think you should get too close to it. You know how dangers insects are."

Young Ved stomped his foot. "But I told you where to find it! If it wasn't for me, Nausicaä would still have it! I deserve some reward! Now I want that Ohmu!"

The man sighed and turned to the man standing behind Ved. "What do you think? He's your son."

The other man looked at the young prince. "Why not let him have it? It's not like it can harm anyone right now. Besides, having an insect around might be useful. We Kalvandirs have been trying to find to… make contact with the insects for awhile."

The memory changed to yet another unfamiliar one.

Pain. It was unbearable. But it had been all it had known for so long. And its body was changing. Not the way it should be, but in an unnatural way that was not meant to be. And they were doing something to its head again. It made it think strange thoughts, thoughts that were not its own, and make it want to do things, things it didn't want to do.

"How's the progress?" asked one of the men.

"Progress is all we can hope for." Said another. "But yes, we are making progress. Its body is changing as we want it to. Now we just have to make sure it continues down that path."

More pain.

The memory ended as the connection was broken. Nausicaä looked at the mutant insect that had once been an Ohmu with wide eyes.

"You were the Ohmu that I took care of as a child." She whispered. "The one they had taken. It had been Ved that ratted me out."

The Ohmu made a moaning noise, which seemed to snap Nausicaä out of her trance. She turned back to Asbel, her worry for him coming back now that the connection between her and the insect had been broken.

"Ohmu," she said, addressing the mutant insect, "please, save him. Save him as you did me. I love him. I can't live without him. Please don't let him die. Bring him back to me."

The insects remained motionless, and Nausicaä feared that they wouldn't help. But the tentacles came out of their mouths and reached for her and the fallen prince. They lifted the two humans in the air as their tentacles began to glow with a gold light, giving them life energy. Their wounds began to heal, but Nausicaä didn't even notice as she looked into Asbel's lifeless face. She watched in amazement as his eyes began twitching.

She wasn't the only one watching with a look of awe. Everyone in the Valley of the Wind watched just as they had two years ago as the insects worked a miracle and restored life.

Slowly Asbel's eyes opened. He looked confused for a moment as he looked up at Nausicaä. "Lestella?"

Nausicaä shook her head. "No, it's me."

Asbel blinked and his vision became more clear. It was indeed the princess he had come to love so much. "Nausicaä." he whispered. "I saw her. I saw my sister. And not just her, but my father too. And your parents." He gave her a smile. "They wanted me to tell you that they're very proud of you."

Tears ran down Nausicaä's cheeks and she reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly. "Thank you, Asbel. And thank you for coming back."

Asbel squeezed her hand back. "Nausicaä, I don't know if it was real or not, but I thought I heard you say something." He looked like he was trying to remember something. "I remember, there was the feeling of me floating away, and just before I saw my family and your parents, I heard you say something to the insects about me." He looked at her, his eyes full of hope. "What did you say?"

Nausicaä lips trembled, but they twisted into a smile. "I told them that I love you, Asbel. And I do."

With his free hand, Asbel reached up and rested his hand on her cheek. Nausicaä leaned into his touch, more tears flowing. Asbel smiled at her and said, "I love you too, Nausicaä. I always have."

Pure joy lit up the princess' face and she leaned in, pressing her lips against his. The insects lifted them up higher as their golden tentacles shined brighter than the sun. When the two finally broke apart, Nausicaä helped Asbel to his feet.

"Come on, lets go home." She said.

Still holding his hand, she pulled him gently along as they descended the golden tentacles. Their clothes were torn and stained blue with the mutant insect's blood, but they were both smiling radiantly.

Back in the Valley of the Wind, the people watched as the prince and princess approached. Lord Yupa stood by Obaba's side, his eyes seeing what hers could not as he spoke.

"'After a thousand years of darkness he will come, clad in blue and surrounded by fields of gold, to restore mankind's connection with the earth that was destroyed. And he will guide the people of this planet, at last, to a land of purity. But he will be influenced by the darkness that humanity has fallen into and in need of a guide. He will follow the one that walked the golden road before him. She shall be his soul mate and guide as he leads the people into the light. And together, they shall join bonds with the great earth'."

"It has come to pass." Said Obaba, her blind eyes pouring tears of happiness. "This time you shall be my eyes, Lord Yupa. Tell me what I need to hear."

The sword master smiled. "Yes, Obaba. It is true. Both Nausicaä and Asbel are clad in blue, descending on fields of gold. And Nausicaä is leading him. It has finally happened. Asbel is indeed the prophesized one, and Nausicaä is his guide." His own tears of joy escaped from his eyes. "The legend has now truly come true."

(A/N: The story's not done yet. Still got one more chapter left. It should be up tomorrow. Yes, it is the epilogue, but I guess you sort of knew that. Anyway, who liked this chapter? I guess you knew that Asbel was the prophesized one since the beginning, or at least since Ved revealed his true colors. So give me some reviews and I'll get you the next chapter. Oh, and a strongly suggest reading that manga I told you about at the beginning. It's a good story.)