A/N: I apologize for the long delay. I had originally planned on getting this out much, much sooner, but life came… saw… and kicked my (*We are experiencing some technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience*).

Anyway, without further ado, I present the first true boss fight of Ocarina of Dimensions.

Chapter 12: Guardian of the Winds: Aviosis

Cody:

I remember times in my life where I would imagine soaring through the clouds under my own power. I would imagine the wind rushing through my hair, the ground far below, maybe even a cliché song like "I Believe I can Fly" playing in the background.

Of course, the only sound that could be heard through the rushing air was my screams as I flew over the ruins of what I figured must be the Wind Temple. It is not a pleasant experience to see the world splayed out below you and know that you do not have any kind of parachute.

As I flew, I noticed that I was heading to a different part of the temple The room I was heading toward also did not have a ceiling, and the wall on the side I was heading towards had collapsed. I felt myself fill with a brief hope. Maybe I would not be dying today! This hope was shattered when I realized how fast I was flying toward this section of the temple. I had absolutely no way to slow myself down (not that I would have had the presence of mind to do anything about it if I did have a way).

Flying at high speed, I slammed into the ground with tremendous force. I felt bones snap as I rolled along the ground. I finally slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room, hitting my head on the hard stone.

I could not move. I felt something warm and wet on my head, but I could not move my hand to see what it was.

My vision was fading…

The whole world went black…

Cody…

Something was calling my name, but I did not want to listen…

Cody…

Seriously, I was feeling extremely comfortable right now, why did it want to disturb my rest…

"Cody! Please wake up!"

I could barely make out a familiar voice, but I could not answer it. If only it would let me sleep…

All of a sudden, I felt as if my body was enveloped in a warm light. The sensation was very pleasant. I felt as light as a feather as the feeling of warmth grew…

Until my whole body felt as if it was lit on fire. I screamed in agony as all of my pain returned to me at once. I could feel something strange happening. My bones snapped back into place. Torn skin stitched itself back together. As my wound healed, the pain started receding…

The pain finally ceased all together. I laid there on the ground, sweating and panting as if I had just run a marathon. I tested my limbs to find that I could indeed move them. My hand immediately went to the back of my head. I brought my hand around to where I could see it and saw that it was covered with blood… my blood…

I shivered as I saw it. Did I almost die! For that matter, how am I still alive!

"Are you okay?" a quiet voice asked next to me.

I shifted my head to see who had spoken beside me… and was instantly on my knees as I saw Via lying on the ground next to me.

Her green glow was considerably less than what I had seen on any fairy before. I could almost make out the humanoid figure that the wings were attached to.

"Am I okay," I said a little incredulously, "What about you!"

Via's glow briefly turned pink before she answered me, "Don't worry, I just n-need a little rest. You were the one who w-was injured."

I looked at her in awe as I began to understand what had just happened, "Did… did you heal me?"

"Yeah," she said as I saw her move into what I assumed was a sitting position (glow was still too bright to tell for sure), "Many fairies h-have the ability to heal. I'm just one of the few who can sur-survive the process."

So, fairies die when they heal people? I was touched that she was willing to risk her life for someone she had just met.

I scooped Via up into my hands and brought her to eye level, "So, are you sure you're okay?"

Via turned pink in my hands and said, "Y-yeah. Thanks."

"Do you need me to carry you for a while?" I asked. The little fairy had saved my life. I had to do something to help her out.

"Don't worry," she said as I felt her stand in my hands, "I'm f-feeling better. I should be able to just r-ride in you're hood."

Well, she did appear to be a little bit brighter. It was nearly impossible to make out her figure underneath the glow anymore.

"If you say so," I said as I moved her so that she could hop into my hood.

When I felt the hood move a little (she was so light, I could not really feel her weight), she said to me, "Before you go b-back to the others, you should open th-that chest over there."

"Huh," I said, looking around real quick. Sure enough, on the other side of the 'room' was a large wooden chest. I had not noticed on my flight into the room.

Could you blame me?

I got to my feet and walked over to the chest. The wood was rotted, as if it had been rained on a lot. Even if the chest happened to be locked, I could probably force it open real easily.

The chest was not locked, however. The lid broke off and landed behind the chest with a loud crash. I peered into the chest to see what could possibly be in there. Was it treasure? The orb? Winning lottery tickets?

My strange fantasies subsided as I saw the contents at the bottom of the chest. I reached in… and pulled out a pair of leather boots. Plain old leather boots. In fact, they looked almost exactly like the boots that Link wore. The only distinguishable feature on these boots was lightning shaped symbols stitched into the sides of the boots. As I looked at them, I realized that they were about my size.

For some strange reason, I was overcome by the urge to put them on. I tried to come up with reasons not to obey this feeling, but to be honest, I figured that these boots would probably be better for the amount of walking that I was going to have to do. Besides, my shoes were already a little on the old side. And these boots looked like they were in pristine condition (despite the fact that I had found them in a rotted chest).

I took my shoes off and put them into the Infinity Bag. I then pulled the boots on. As I had suspected, they did indeed fit me as if they were made for me. They were also surprisingly comfortable.

"I guess it's time to get going now, what do you say Via?"

"Yeah! W-we need to go back and help them fight A-Aviosis!" she said.

It was strange how the fairies seemed to know who that harpy thing was. I decided not to question it and started heading back…

Link:

"Cody!" Malon screamed as Cody was sent flying over the wall…

She stood there in shock, not noticing that Aviosis had started to charge.

"Look out!" I shouted as I shove Malon out of the way. I barely brought my shield around in time to block her attack.

Aviosis hit me with such force that I slid back a good distance. I managed to stay on my feet though, which caused Aviosis to become even angrier (as if she was not angry enough). She started beating her wings furiously, bombarding me with powerful blasts of wind. I was steadily being pushed toward the edge. Oh, what I would not give to have my iron boots right now…

Aviosis suddenly abandoned her attack on me and quickly spun around and sent a gust of wind at the arrow that had come dangerously close to hitting her. Malon notched another arrow while Aviosis glared at her. I noticed that Malon was running dangerously low on ammo. I was surprised that she had not run out yet.

As Aviosis prepared her attack, I sheathed my sword and pulled out my own bow. I aimed at Aviosis and decided to try something. I concentrated some magic into my arrow, and it started to glow with a golden light…

As she knocked away another of Malon's arrows, Aviosis finally noticed what I was doing. She turned quickly to face me as I let loose my Light Arrow.

Like with Malon's arrows, Aviosis attempted to knock it away with a wind blast…

"Malon! Cover your eyes!" I shouted as I raised my arm up to shield my eyes.

Even with my eyes covered and closed, light still bled through my eyelids. I heard a loud shriek from the suddenly blind Aviosis. I notched another arrow and this time lit it on fire. I let it loose while Aviosis was still flying around blind.

She had regained some of her sight and attempted to knock the arrow off course, but she missed. The arrow lit some of her flight feathers on fire. Aviosis shrieked in pain as she furiously flapped her wings to put out the fire.

Though the fire went out relatively quickly, her wing was now too damaged to keep her aloft. She landed on the ground, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

I drew my sword with my left hand, and with my right, I gestured to her to come to me. With a loud shriek of rage, she charged at me…

Cody:

I hurried as fast as I could to get back to the front of the temple. I could hear fighting going on and knew that I had to help somehow. Unfortunately, due to the poor shape of the temple, it was slow going. Many of the rooms had holes in the floor that led to the forest below. Some rooms did not have floors at all, forcing me to backtrack and find another way.

I was starting to get a little frantic when Via suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

I came to a halt as the little green fairy shot in front of me. Apparently, she had already recovered (I guess fairies are resilient).

"I s-sense something in the room to the east!"

"Could you clarify?" I asked, "I don't know which direction is east."

Via darted over to the door that was on my right (figures I was facing north) and started bouncing around excitedly, "I sense something of great p-power. Maybe it's what you're l-looking for?"

I could still hear the sounds of combat nearby. I could not have been more than a room away from them. I was torn by indecision. If Via was right, then I could get the orb, and we could high-tail it out of here and hopefully save Saria. However, the overgrown harpy could be finishing Link, Zelda and Malon off now.

"Hurry Cody!"

I decided that it was worth the risk. They should be able to handle themselves. Besides, Aviosis would probably just toss me again (she seemed to love doing that to me…).

I ran through the doorway, Via close on my heels (or should I say shoulder since she flies).

The room looked as if it was once magnificent. But years of decay and erosion had stripped the chamber of its former glory. The floor seemed to be intact, but as with the rest of the temple, the ceiling was gone. At the opposite end of the once great chamber, there stood a statue that was completely intact. The statue was small. It stood on a pedestal that put the statue about a foot below my height. The statue looked to be that of a bird's talon. The claws curved inward, grasping something. The object that was being held by the statue…

Was a little green glowing orb, similar to the Orb of Light that Link had received from Rauru.

"Sweet," I said with a relieved grin. Finally! Something is actually going right!

I ran to the statue to get the orb…

"Cody! Watch out!"

I barely managed to roll out of the way before a dark energy blast hit the spot right in front of the statue. I drew my sword and turned to look at my foe…

I felt the blood drain from my face as I saw the robed man, Malgum, floating in the air near the statue.

"Now Cody," he said as if he was scolding a child for some minor misbehavior, "You know that you can't get the orb that easily."

I swore. Malgum knows of our plan! That cannot possibly be good.

I got into a ready stance as Via flew behind me to hide. Malgum chuckled at us.

"Oh come now, you can't possibly think that you can defeat me as you are now."

I felt a brief spasm of fear, but I quashed it as I tightly gripped my sword, "Only one way to find out."

From what I could see, he did not have the Sword of Darkness yet, which meant that I could beat him. At least, I hoped that I could beat him.

Malgum just floated there. From what little I could see of his face, I could tell that he was smiling.

Because he was out of reach, I did the only thing that I could think of in that situation. I made a break for the orb. Malgum immediately retaliated by shooting energy beams at me. I threw up my arm and a shield sprang forth. The energy beams smashed against the shield causing it to shatter. The last few hit me and sent me flying towards the side of the room. Strangely though, it did not hurt quite as much as I expected. The shield must have dissipated most of the energy.

I got to my feet as Malgum sent more energy beams at me. The bracer was sparking, which told me that it still needed time before it could form another shield. I thought about using the other bracer, but an idea popped into my head.

As the energy beam closed in on me, I held my blade in a ready position. Just a bit more…

The energy beams were almost on me. I swung the sword and connected with the beams. The beams ricocheted off my sword and went back to Malgum. Malgum seemed surprised and erected a shield around himself.

While he was busy, I made a dash for the orb. I could tell that Malgum was watching me, and he would be in a position to blast me long before I got to the orb…

For some reason, it felt as if some of my energy was being drained into my new boots. What the…

My speed suddenly tripled, and I was already to the statue before I had time to realize what had just happened. I quickly grabbed the green orb and yanked it from the statue…

I heard the crash as the energy beams collided with Malgum's shield. Malgum looked down at me, and I could tell that he was not happy.

"Well played Cody. But I won't let you win that easily."

He shot just one beam this time. However, he shot it at the floor of the room.

The floor of the entire room crumbled away, and I started to plummet to the forest below…

For the second time in the past thirty minutes, I was once again flying through the air. I had finally gotten hold of an orb, but it looks like I will not have an opportunity to actually celebrate my find…

"Cody!"

I looked over to my right to see that Via was flying along side me, "Cody, use the orb! It's y-your only chance!"

"What!" I shouted, "How!"

"It's the Orb of W-winds! It might be able to help!"

Rauru did say that the orbs could add elemental attributes to our weapons. I do not exactly have anything to lose by trying at this point.

I held the orb to the crystal on my sword. The crystal on the sword pulsed… and absorbed the orb into it.

The blade started to glow green…

Link:

Aviosis was extremely quick. She slammed into my shield again and again, preventing me from attacking. Malon would fire every now and again, but Aviosis would block the arrow, generating a gust of wind with her good wing. Malon did not have very many arrows left.

All of a sudden, Aviosis ceased her attack and backed away. Wary, I kept my shield up.

Aviosis let out a triumphant shriek as her wing regenerated.

Oh come on!

Aviosis took to the air once again and sent a more powerful gust of wind at me, more powerful then any she had generated before. I was pushed all the way back to the elevator. I risked a glance and saw that Zelda was still holding Saria in her healing embrace, but the light that surrounded them was getting dimmer. We were running out of time…

Aviosis turned on Malon this time and started flapping her wings furiously. Malon fell to the ground and was being steadily pushed back to the wall. I started charging at Aviosis, but I was not sure if I would be able to land a blow at the height Aviosis was currently. The wall behind Malon crumbled.

She was almost to the wall…

The howling of the wind suddenly increased ten-fold, but the sound came from a different direction. Aviosis stopped generating her gusts, looking curiously at the edge directly behind Malon. Malon also glanced behind her as the roar increased to an almost unbearable level…

Cody shot over the edge, the Dimensional Sword pointing down and unleashing a large amount of wind. Cody sailed over the ruined wall and then very gracefully… crashed into the floor.

All of us, including Aviosis, were frozen with shock as Cody swore and pulled himself to his feet.

As Cody got clumsily to his feet, Via flew over the edge and flew straight for Cody's hood. She peeked out and looked around at us all. I guess she was still being shy…

Cody was finally on his feet, and he looked around at all of us, before asking, "So… What did I miss?"

Aviosis gave a loud angry shriek and rose into the air once again. This time, however, she cloaked herself in a wall of wind. The wind was starting to expand out from her. She was trying to knock us off the temple. Cody scrambled away, trying to get away from the encroaching wind. I tried to get closer, but the wind was too strong. Aviosis was about to send us over the edge…

"Cody!" Via shouted from the hood of Cody's jacket, "The Orb of Winds is much more p-powerful than the magic that Aviosis w-wields!"

"Right," Cody said, stopping and charging energy into the blade. As the blade glowed brighter and brighter, a powerful wind started to circulate around the blade. I watched in fascination as Cody finished charging the blade and swung at Aviosis.

A powerful wind howled from the blade and slammed into the whirlwind that surrounded Aviosis. Cody's attack ripped through Aviosis' wind like it was nothing and slammed into her.

Aviosis fell to the ground, stunned by the sudden attack from her own element.

I did not hesitate. I started running at Aviosis before she even hit the ground and launched myself off a piece of rubble at her. I charged energy into my blade and slashed down with a magic powered jump attack.

My blade sliced off her wing, and she shrieked as the energy coursed through her body.

"Malon!" I shouted, "Now!"

"Oh," Malon said, and then she notched her last arrow, and let it fly.

The arrow buried itself deep into Aviosis' skull, cutting off her shrieks almost instantly. Surprisingly, she stumbled around for a few seconds, before slamming into one of the walls. The wall collapsed under her weight, and I watched as the Guardian of the Wind Temple plummeted to the forest below.

Cody ran over and pulled Malon to her feet. Without letting go of her arm, he started dashing for the elevator. Not needing to be told, I also ran for the elevator.

We all piled in once again, Cody stomping on the elevator floor as if that would speed things up, "Move…" stomp "you…" stomp "piece…" stomp "of…"

Suddenly, and a little violently, the elevator started speeding toward the surface.

I turned to look at Zelda and Saria. Zelda had begun to sweat, and the aura of light around the two of them was almost completely gone. Ami was bouncing around frantically and Malon was gazing at the two, looking as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

Cody was staring anxiously at the fast approaching forest.

"Come on, come on…" he kept muttering.

It was not long before we saw the temple racing toward us. Right before we hit it, the elevator started slowing down. After what felt like a lifetime, we finally made it back to the main room of the Forest Temple.

As the elevator came to a stop, Zelda finally collapsed with Saria still in her arms. The aura that had surrounded them was gone.

"I've done all I can," Zelda said, looking pained as she lay there, "but I don't think she's going to make it…"

"NOOOO!" Ami wailed as she flew down next to Saria's still face.

I fell down to my knees as I looked on my first and best friend.

She was dying…

And there was nothing I could do. I was the Hero of Time, and I could not do anything…

Malon was leaning on Cody, sobbing into his shoulder. Cody's face seemed impassive, but his hands were balled into fists. This could not be happening. Saria is immortal, she cannot… she cannot… be…

"Lay her on the ground and get b-back."

Everyone turned to see the little green fairy floating next to Cody. It was the first time I heard her speak to anyone (other than Cody that is).

"Please! You m-must hurry! I can save her!"

Cody's demeanor changed in the blink of an eye, "She's right! She healed me from life threatening injuries; she can do the same here!"

Zelda nodded and laid Saria down gently beside her. I rushed over and helped the weary Zelda to her feet, and we quickly moved away. Everyone stood back as Via flew over to Saria.

I had seen it countless times before. On more than one occasion, a fairy had saved me from almost certain death by sacrificing its own life force to heal me, and Via seemed to be doing it here…

But Cody just said that she healed him before, did he not?

I did not have time to really ponder this as I saw Saria enveloped in a green glow and lifted off the ground. She glowed brighter and brighter, until it was almost too bright to watch. But I refused to look away.

The glow eventually dissipated and Saria was laid gently back on the ground. I notice the somewhat dull glow of Via as she landed beside Saria and collapsed. Cody and I rushed over to check on the two.

The first thing I noticed was that the color had returned to Saria's face. She was breathing steadily as well. I silently thanked Farore as I picked Saria up.

Cody scooped up the little fairy and asked her, "Are you okay? You look worse than before."

At first, Via did not answer. Then she said, albeit weakly, "Healing two people in such a short time has t-taken it out of me. I'll be f-fine. I just need a lot of r-rest."

Cody breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked over at Saria, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah," I said as I looked down at the sleeping form of my best friend, "She's going to be just fine."

A/N: Be honest, how many people imagined a heart container flying back over the wall after Aviosis fell?