Author's Note: Hey, guys! Haven't updated this in a while and there is a reason for that, one that I think many of us are sharing and experiencing in our own way.

I don't want to get into it too much, but I've been in a bit of downer recently, due to the incredibly unexpected passing of Robin Williams. It just hit hard, you know? He was my and I'm positive countless others childhood's personified, that's quite an accomplishment to be proud of. Which brings up a very important topic, I really don't know how many of you guys read these little notes but hey, this is just me and you talking for a second.

Depression's a horrible thing, especially when you feel like you have to go it alone. I've experienced it myself, it's such a low, isolating feeling. So, hey, if you're feeling a little down or maybe just want to talk about something, even the silliest thing in the world, reach out to people. Whether it be your family or your friends or even someone that's qualified to help you, just know that they're there to support you. Thanks for reading, I genuinely mean that.

Disclaimer: Spider-Man and all related characters belong to Marvel and by extension, Disney. Nausicaä and all related characters and concepts belong to Hayao Miyazaki, the Toei Company and possibly Studio Ghibli. I own nothing but the premise.


Nausicaä (of the Valley of the Wind)

"I have no idea what I'm doing," a teenage boy muttered to himself, soaring through the hazy and spore filled air of the Toxic Jungle.

He was dressed in a sort of subtle red and blue outfit, dull in its tone and colour. Worn and torn boots protected his feet, while a mask-like canvas concealed his facial features. His chocolate coloured eyes were covered with a sheen of reflective blue, the wide circular goggles were doing a good job at shielding his vision.

What he was doing there, he didn't quite know himself. Trying to find someplace to live, someplace to call home. And oh, how far he had travelled. Just him, him and the barest of essentials. The clothes on his back, a portable flare gun, even a small machete, strapped to his leg. Not forgetting the intricately designed gas mask, filtering the deadly poisonous air around him into clean and breathable oxygen.

Something that put the boy on edge, he had been told since childhood how dangerous the air could be. Especially in the Toxic Jungle, so imagine how thrilled he was to actually be there. Manoeuvring past gigantic flying insects, with armour resilient enough to resist even the strongest of Man's war machines, the boy landed.

Right on the side of what he could only assume was a twisted amalgamation of a dragonfly and a scorpion, only about fifty times bigger than him. "Hey, don't mind me, buddy. Just act like I'm not even here, we'll get along like old pals." The kid mocked, confident that the creature barely even noticed the added weight.

As its glossy silvery wings drummed, the creature simply droned in response. "Well, in a way, we're practically cousins. You know? Insects, arachnids? Same phyla anyway, I don't really want to get into too much… semantics and whatnot." He muttered, his large reflective goggles starting off into the distance.

"Plus, you're a giant insect-like creature and I'd have to be off my rocker to explain the relationship between Chelicerata and Hexapoda to you. Man, it just occurred to me how glad I am that no-one's around to see this." The boy continued to prattle on, gazing at the visual wonders the jungle had to offer.

Because despite the absolute immediate danger, it was quite a sight to behold. The Sea of Decay was just desert and wastelands, where fatigue, thirst and the scorching beams of the Sun greeted all weary travellers. So, in retrospect, he greatly preferred the quietness and serenity of the jungle.

Though, the silence also came at a cost. The cost of being alone with one's thoughts, and his were anything but joyful. Ink black smoke and smog, flames hungering for anything within reach, only serving to feed further destruction and hopelessness. His home decimated in one night of damned screams and forced bloodshed, the result of which had been his people's own fault… angering the damn insects.

Though he held no ties to his home, had been an orphan since an early age, the pain still persisted. Still, he couldn't blame the insects; his people had been killing them for years. He'd even tried to warn them, stave of the oncoming carnage that he somehow sensed was going to happen.

They suffered for the choices they had made, the wrongs they had wrought. And he, possessing such a logical, forward thinking mind, looked to science for an explanation. Whatever was left of the study anyway, most of the world's information before the Seven Days of Fire had been lost to time.

He pondered whether it was natural selection at work, a superior species wiping out their lesser. Somehow… it just didn't fit, didn't feel right. Just a tragic turn of inevitable events, leaving a once healthy people eradicated, nothing but dust in the wind and the memories he carried with him.

The teenager rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the knotted tension built up in his muscles. The cruel event hadn't even happened that long ago, a few months at best. During which, he had journeyed from settlement to settlement, attempting to find help of some kind. Though each time, he only found death and overgrown jungle, spores seeping out of the lungs of their victims.

So, he had made his way into the Toxic Jungle, hoping to reach the other side in search of aid. He believed that Pejite, the kingdom of Tolmekia and the Valley of the Wind were not far beyond the jungle's borders.

Though his personal preference had always been the Valley of the Wind, for its clean air and luscious forests. And he had heard the odd story every now and then, about the Valley's fair and gentle princess, Nausicaä. Pejite was said to be quite industrial and the less said about the war mongering Tolmekians, the better.

The boy, cryptic and faceless, suddenly sprang to life as he leaped off of his temporary perch. Leaving his giant flying insect friend behind, the agile teenager lashed out his arm, aiming at the surrounding coral like structures. Firing some sort of organic adhesive, stronger than any metal available, the boy flew through the thick and humid air.

Pulling on the web-like line, he directed himself toward an opening, flipping and twirling like something else entirely. Nothing even remotely human anyway, it'd have been physically impossible for someone to move in such a way.

Spotting a great vantage point in the distance, a sort of organic hill-like structure through the marginally hazy air, he descended with incredible finesse and grace. It just came so naturally, despite being completely against what was natural for the average human.

"Where am I again? Weird… everything looks extremely similar, kinda hard to tell where I'm supposed to be going. Ugh, was it—maybe north? Let me think… Valley of the Wind is—that way, yeah, that way… right? Is it that way? Definitely by the coast, which is… north? So I was right, and me babbling out loud to myself has been a complete waste of time. Wow, time flies when you're being an idiot." He openly mocked, finding that talking to himself had made him feel a little less lonely.

And then the unusual tingling inside his head acted up, which usually meant one thing judging from past experiences… unequivocal trouble.

What trouble, he didn't know. Had no concept of the severity of the danger, until the ground began to slowly shake, of course. Glancing towards the surface he found himself on, lifting one of his muddy and wrecked boots, he quickly realized that the danger was beneath him.

The boy hadn't landed on a natural piece of Earth; instead, he'd managed to wake up a docile Ohmu. The heavily armoured tank-like creature roared to life, causing the boy to panic and leap off in one powerful motion. Managing to adhere to a large nearby fungus of some sort—resembling a Morel mushroom actually—the kid's chestnut coloured eyes widened beneath his goggles.

He hadn't set eyes on one since… since his home had been destroyed, completely laid to waste. But it was just minding its own business, didn't have those crazy angry red eyes. Those were an indication of rage, which usually sent them into a blind fury. It was almost strange, how calm they were when left alone.

They held a deep, cold blue in their eyes. They were actually kind of pretty, forgetting about how destructive they could be. The Ohmu moved and as such, the trees and fungus surrounding the creature shook, scattering hidden birds and flying insects. They fluttered off while the Ohmu simply stared at the human, a human that could stick to surfaces, something particularly curious.

The boy had heard stories, read in certain books, that the Ohmu were extremely intelligent. Maybe even human level intelligent, in their own special way. Though they obviously couldn't speak, they clearly had some sort of way to interact with each other, but it was so much more than that. The boy had seen other animals display emotion, loving affection, mindless rage, even laziness at one point or another.

So, why not Ohmus? There was obviously some sort of deeper level, something he doubted anyone understood, including himself. The kid didn't know the first thing about them, just that they were very social animals.

But even despite all of that, he couldn't help but be wary of them.

Before he could react, the Ohmu let out an ear piercing scream. The kid froze; apparently they were very sensitive creatures. Bounding away, right as the massive armoured insect ploughed into the mushroom he had been perched on, the travelling teenager flipped into the air and shot off a web-line.

Swinging like there was no tomorrow, the adventurer made his way away from the machine-like creature. Casting a spare look behind him, the boy could see that the Ohmu's eyes hadn't taken on their rage-filled red colour. So, perhaps it had been more annoyed by his presence than actually angered by it.

"Just have to get out of its line of sight, it shouldn't bother with me after that. As far as it's concerned, I'm just a fly in need of swatting, which is… ironic really." He quipped to himself, taking a hard right and slinging himself behind a cluster of hill sized boulders.

And then the Ohmu smashed through the boulders, rendering them completely useless in the grand scheme of things. Rubble exploded, prompting the boy to twist and spin in mid-air, gritting his teeth as solid rock continued to pass him by.

Spinning another web-line, the traveller changed his course. "You know, I really don't know what I was expecting. These things drive through entire cities with next to no trouble, awesome thinking there, dude." He berated, slinging himself higher and higher.

Which was all he needed to do really, just stay out its reach. Sometimes, the kid really didn't know why he had been given such great power. More often than not, he could never figure out what to do with his abilities. In fact, hiding them had been a major concern for most of his life. Only recently had he just begun to really experiment with them, see what he was truly capable of.

And apparently, he could run… well… swing rings around a behemoth that could make an entire army turn tail. Whiplashing himself around a nearby tree—standing higher than he could possibly fathom—the boy simply doubled back, giving the Ohmu the slip as it continued to power ahead.

Glancing back over his shoulder, the teenager breathed a sigh of relief. "Note to self, try to be a little more observant in the future." He muttered, though his voice failed to reach his ears due to the sheer speed of his swings.

Turning his attention back ahead of him, the adventurer—weird, crazy danger tingling!

Extensively wide brown eyes matched, locking for a split second in a rush of blurred, high velocity movement. The boy didn't have much time to think, just listened to his body and mind, spiralling out of the way as the new presence dived out of the way.

Gaining his bearings, the kid came out of the flip and coiled around to land on a large, arching branch of the tree. And it was large, impossible gigantic, easily big enough to house a vehicle let alone a person. Standing tall, his hidden eyes growing with curiosity and intrigue, the boy watched this stranger circle back through the air.

From what he could see, the stranger seemed to be riding a möwe. A möwe was an advanced glider-like craft with a jet assist, something incredibly unique to him. He hadn't seen one in years; they seemed to be fairly rare actually. Even though he had never learnt how to fly, the kid was fairly sure that a möwe would've been his craft of choice.

Coming in for a smooth landing—fairly expert actually—the stranger stepped off of the möwe to stare hard at the boy. "Why did you disturb the Ohmu?" Apparently, said stranger was a she.

The teenager found her voice to be incredibly gentle, almost heavenly in some way. Though, that also might've been because of his lack of contact with another human for quite some time. Either way, she sounded relatively friendly, despite the underlying warning held somewhere within her tone.

Holding up his gloved hands, the traveller shook his head. "I didn't, I promise you. I was simply passing through and I made a mistake, the Ohmu got riled up but went on its way. No harm, no foul." He assured, taking note of what the girl happened to be wearing.

She seemed to be dressed in some kind of aviator's outfit, a deep sea blue in its colour, something he was quite partial to. In fact, she was carrying a lot of the same equipment as him too. A small blade, most likely for close encounters and traversing through the jungle; a beige gas mask, protecting her from the surrounding air; and blue canvas-like headdress, apparently doubling as goggles.

Though, she had opted to show her eyes, while his remained hidden. "I'm not here to start trouble, I swear." He persisted, allowing the girl to lower her guard somewhat.

Her shoulders loosened and muscles relaxed as she cast a glance back out to the open air, allowing the boy to see her thick and unkempt red hair. "Just now, up in the air… how were you doing that?" She inquired, unable to hide the pure intrigue in her voice.

The kid gave a snort, tilting his head to one side. "That's a good question, one I don't really have an answer for right now. In fact, I doubt I ever will. But it's not important, what is important is that I'm lost. I'm not exactly from around here; I'm trying to find my way out of the jungle, in hopes of reaching the Valley of the Wind." He revealed, arching an eyebrow when the girl seemed to stiffen a little.

"What do you intend to do upon reaching the Valley?" She questioned, grilled more than anything as the kid furrowed his brow.

He shrugged, sighing as he felt a little worn out with all of the questions. "I don't know, sleep for a couple hundred years? What do you want from me, lady? I'm just trying to get the heck out of here; this place isn't exactly a vacation spot, if you haven't noticed. Look, can you at least point me in the right direction and just let me be on my merry way?" The boy asked, his patience wearing thin and attitude beginning to surface.

He really hadn't had any contact with another person in what felt like ages, but as soon recalling how infuriating it could be. "I ask because it is my business, stranger. And I'd appreciate a little more respect in your words, I didn't have to come and see who was disturbing the jungle. I could have left you to fend for yourself, which wouldn't have gotten you very far seeing as how you're 'not exactly from around here'." She responded, her own patience breaking in light of his restless spirit.

The kid smirked beneath his gas mask, raising his eyebrows for a moment. "All right, you got me. You clearly know your way around this place, and I am clearly in need of a guide. What do you say? Friends?" He suggested, holding out his hand but remaining stationary.

The girl stared at the gesture for a moment, studying the faceless person before her. "Acquaintances at best," she remarked, approaching him to grasp his hand firmly.

Sparing a grin, the boy nodded. "You're the boss, lady. Name's Pītā, Pītā Pākā. I hail from the settlement of Kuīnzu," he revealed.

The girl's eyes widened slightly, apparently resonating with his words to some degree. "We received word some time ago that your city had been overrun, I wasn't aware that there had been any survivors." Her tone morphed into one of pity, apparently feeling regret over the misinformation she had received.

"Survivor, that's uhh… singular. Just—just me now, no-one else… been that way for quite some time." Pītā spoke sternly, setting his jaw as he found the subject hard to mention out loud.

The girl nodded, taking note of the difficulty he was experiencing. "I'm sorry," she muttered, not knowing him well enough to offer a gentle hand of encouragement.

The kid brushed it off, forcing an unseen smile for his own benefit more than anything else. "Yeah, well… so… you uhh—you familiar with the Valley of the Wind?" Pītā queried, changing the subject briskly.

Something the girl noticed, even when she couldn't see his face. "I should hope so, I am its princess." She jested, a muffled laugh escaping from her mouth.

Pītā held his forehead for a moment, apparently stunned by such a surprise. "You gotta be kidding me… Nausicaä… right?" He asked, though thought it to be fairly frivolous as she gave a nod.

"The one and the same, it's a pleasure to meet you, Pītā. Now, if you're quite done disturbing the peace, I can show you the way to the Valley. I have to warn you though; the people have grown quite untrusting towards outsiders recently. It's not their fault; we were taken advantage of at a difficult time. Just… try not to draw too much attention to yourself," Nausicaä advised, leading him towards her möwe.

The tall brunette gave a laugh, watching as she boarded her portable aircraft. "I'll keep that in mind, but I have to thank you. My options weren't exactly great; the Valley seemed like the smartest choice. Uhh… what are you doing?" Pītā posed, arching an eyebrow as the redheaded girl set up her mode of transportation.

Nausicaä spared him a glance as she made a few adjustments to her möwe. "Making some room for you, you're hitching a ride. Your… webbing—whatever it is—will only get you so far, there's miles of desert on all sides of the jungle. In fact, I'm surprised you've gotten this far without some sort of aircraft." She admitted, her hazel coloured eyes lighting up a bit.

Pītā sighed, finding her reasoning to be sound. "Point," he mumbled, dragging his feet as he moved over to join her.

Climbing on board the möwe, Pītā found himself in fairly close quarters with Nausicaä. "So… how're we gonna do this?" He quizzed, watching as she pointed to the metallic surface beneath them.

"I steer, and you lie down beneath me." She answered truthfully, stepping aside for him to get in place.

The kid narrowed his eyes beneath his wide goggles, alternating between staring at her and the surface of the glider. "Seriously?" Pītā questioned, not familiar with the whole passenger concept of a möwe.

Nausicaä placed a hand on her hip, using her free arm to lean on one of the craft's railings. "Why? There a problem?" She responded calmly, watching the boy rub the back of his neck.

Shrugging, Pītā got into position and found himself lying on his stomach. "I uhh… guess not," he stumbled, glancing above him to see Nausicaä standing comfortably.

The girl spared a smile, preparing to kick start the glider's engine. "Comfortable?" She queried, her soft tone one of complete innocence.

Pītā refrained from staring up at the beautiful girl, instead opting to focus his attention on the empty air in front of him. "I really don't know how to answer that," he mumbled, bracing himself as Nausicaä hit some sort of mechanism with her foot.


Translations: Pītā Pākā - Bruce Banner (Just kidding, guys, it's Peter Parker)

Kuīnzu - Queens (Pretty clever, right?)

Author's Note: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is one of my favourite Miyazaki movies, the scenery and visuals are nothing short of breathtaking. I really hope I did at least something justice in this little chapter and surprise, surprise, it's somewhat of an ongoing story.

Oh and first Anime chapter, yay!

Feel free to let me know what you liked or even what you didn't like, or if you just want to get in touch and have a nice chat, even about the silliest thing in the world, don't be afraid to message me. So, yeah, I hope you guys are doing okay and I really hope I didn't put a damper on your mood or anything like that. I just felt a little strongly about it and couldn't post a chapter without saying anything, hope you guys understand.

Guest Reviews:

Guest1: Yeah, I read that issue, major bummer :/ I also read Superior Spider-Man issue 32, don't want to spoil it for anyone but stuff starts going south. I'm right there with you though, I really don't understand with all of this yaoi Spidey stuff has come from. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Guest2: Thank you very kindly, sir or madam! That's a yes, yes and yes to your requests! Have a great day and thanks for leaving a review!

JC: The anime? Yes, it's definitely something I'm looking into. Just give me some time and I'll see if I can't work something out, thanks for yet another review!