Dean hardly gave Cas a chance to agree or not. He scooped him up and said, "We gotta go to the Lumpy Pumpkin. It's important." Cas nodded and followed along, though he was certainly surprised. A quick ride on Dean's Loftwing and they arrived at Pumpkin Landing. Cas didn't mind sitting on the bird with him. He trusted Dean enough.

"Hey, that didn't take you very long at all!" Pumm called out from behind the wooden counter. He put down a glass he had been shining and stepped around to greet the boys properly.

"What's going on?" asked Cas. "Why do you need me? It seems like an odd request."

"It sure is," Pumm agreed. He looked around at the few patrons—regulars who Cas figured could hear anything. "Why don't you come back here so we can talk in private? This can't get out."

Dean nodded since he already knew, but Cas was still feeling disoriented. Pumm asked Kina to look after the customers so they could go in the back room and out of plain sight.

"Take a seat," said Pumm, pointing to a few stools around a desk. They both did. Cas looked at Dean nervously but Pumm was so relaxed that he knew it couldn't be bad. "As I told Dean earlier, I met up with Levias, the spirit of the skies. I do that regularly to give him my soup. Have you ever tried my soup, Cas?"

"Uh, Pumm?" Dean interrupted. "I thought this was really important?"

"Oh!" The older man said as if startled. "R-right. Okay, y'see, he told me something that you'll wanna know, Cas. Apparently there are a few more islands like Skyloft floating around out there and on one of them grows this special fruit. It's tiny and rarely appears, but if ya eat it, any health problem will be instantly cured."

Cas gasped. "Are you serious?"

"As long as Levias is, then yeah. So I thought maybe you'd talk to him about it."

Cas nodded desperately. "Oh, oh, yes. That would be incredible. I would very much like to find that fruit. My mother could benefit…"

"I figured," said Pumm. He folded his arms and nodded. "You better get going and see him. He mentioned that the fruit doesn't live for very long, so you've got no time to waste."

Cas touched Dean's arm and gazed at him desperately. "Can we go? Can we go into the Thunderhead? Is that something you and Baby can handle?"

Dean grinned. "Absolutely."

"Good! Then let us go!"

Cas got up right away and ran out of the Lumpy Pumpkin, leaving Dean there with his arms folded. His smile subsided into something smaller and he muttered, "Anything for you."

The Thunderhead seemed terrifying from Skyloft, even though people would occasionally go inside it. Pumm was clearly no stranger and Cas had heard the journey of other's, but it still scared him.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Cas called out as the soared towards the huge mass of clouds. He sat behind Dean with his arms wrapped tightly around him. Feeling Cas' body so close to Dean was empowering for him.

"Definitely," Dean reassured him.

Baby brought her arms in and she dove straight towards the clouds. Wind rushed them harder than they had felt before.

"Hang on, Cas!" Dean called out. "It's sure to be a bumpy ride!"

POOM!

They burst through the cloud wall and were suddenly inside the Thunderhead. It was dark, winds were strong and rain roared around them. Cas let out a squeal and hugged Dean closer.

"S'okay," Dean muttered. He shouted for Baby to go on and the Loftwing took off.

Pumm said that Levias come to the island with the rainbow, which they spotted not too long after entering the Thunderhead. The bird soared down to it and landed softly. There wasn't as much rain deeper into the clouds. Cas stood and looked up at the rainbow which arched over the island. "How interesting," he pondered. Dean glanced over at him and saw the myriad of lights reflected down onto him.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, staring.

"Hm?" Cas looked over at Dean and smiled. He saw the strange look on Dean's face and blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothin'," Dean muttered. "Where do you think the sky God is?"

"Mmh…I'm not sure." Cas stepped over to the edge of the island and looked down. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "LEVIAAAAAAAAS!"

Nothing happened. Rain continued to patter against the soft grass.

"LEVIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!" He cried again, standing up this time and calling to the sky.

Rrruuuuuuuuuuh…

Suddenly, a deep tone resonated throughout the Thunderhead. Dean stood his ground. The island began to shake.

Rrruuuhhh…

A giant whale came into view. He moved gracefully despite his size, dipping through the sky as if an ocean. His eye was as tall Cas!

"Ah…those who I called up have come…"

Cas stepped back towards Dean as if for safety and he bowed, visibly shaking. Dean followed his actions but with less nervousness.

"Thanks for telling Pumm about this," said Dean, looking at the massive creature as best as he could. "We want to get that fruit."

"I assumed thus," said Levias in his deep, otherworldly voice. "I must apologize that I am unable to obtain it for you. You see, the tree grows deep within a maze of walls and I am far too large to retrieve it. I can only sense when the fruit appears."

"It's a good thing we're small then, eh?" Dean laughed. The God wasn't terribly amused.

"Um, Levias?" Cas asked now, trying to speak clearly. The whale stared at him, hovering within the dense air of the Thunderhead. "I…Is this journey to find the fruit dangerous? I didn't know there were other islands out there."

"I expected this question," said Levias, "And the answer is no, it is not dangerous. It is, however, difficult. But there is no reward without a challenge, correct?"

Dean nodded. As a knight in training, he could understand what Levias meant. Cas was a bit more concerned.

"Skyloft is rife with monsters at night, though the island you seek is not. A day's journey to the east shall land you among this island. You will know as it is tall with walls and trees. You shall find small islands on the way which you can rest at."

"All right," said Dean. "Do you think I could do it alone? I'm training to be a knight but Cas isn't. I don't want to—um—put him in extra danger."

Levias let out a hum of sound. It was twangy and impossible to identify with a specific emotion. Dean shifted on his heels.

"You shall need four to complete this task," the God said.

"Four?!" Dean gasped.

"Indeed," said Levias. "But as I said, there is no danger. Only difficulty. You are sure to find two others to join you. Perhaps…" He paused here for a while. "Perhaps the two young friends of yours."

Dean cleared his throat. "Link and Zelda? How do you—"

"You cannot keep much from a God," Levias said. For a moment, Dean thought he saw a smirk on the whale's mouth. "I wish you good luck in your task. Bear in mind that the fruit does not last long, and once it is picked it must be eaten soon or the effects will be lost. There is enough time to return home with it, but little more."

"Okay," Dean hummed. He wanted to say more, but Levias flapped his fins and soared below them and out of sight. Cas touched Dean's arm.

"We should go back. We need to hurry."

A meeting was called to assemble in Cas' house. Dean, Link, Zelda and Headmaster Gaepora all attended. Dean stood before them and cleared his throat loudly.

"All right, uh, so, there's a reason I need to talk to you. Cas and I went to see Levias today, the God of the skies."

Zelda made a sound of interest. Cas looked at his mother, who was of course also there and sitting up in bed. "There's a remedy for your injury," he said. "We're going to get it. It's a fruit on an island far from here."

"Oh, I don't know," Cas' mother sighed. "I don't think you should risk so much just for me."

Cas shook his head. "Levias said it isn't dangerous. He told us what to do. But we need two more to come with us."

"Take two of our knights," his mother suggested.

"Levias thought Link and Zelda would be better," Dean interjected. The two named jumped and looked at each other. Cas' mom was even more displeased now.

"But they're so young!" she protested. "That can't be a good idea! Why Link and Zelda?"

"Hmm," Headmaster Gaepora's voice joined the discussion now. He stroked his beard as he thought. "Though I do not approve of my daughter going on such a journey, if Levias has said it should be done, then we must respect that. He wouldn't endanger our children."

Link stood up. "I'll go," he said. "I'll do it. I'll make sure Zelda is safe, too."

Dean smiled with relief. "Zelda? Will you come with us?"

"Yes," the girl said, nodding. "I will do what Levias asks of me, that's fine."

"Good," said Dean. "Then we have to pack and get going. He says the fruit won't last long so we gotta head out as soon as possible."

"I…suppose," Cas' mother said weakly. "I suppose if it is Levias' will, and the rest of you approve…"

"Thank you, mother," said Cas. He kissed her on the forehead. "We'll be good and we'll return with the fruit for you. Then everything will be well."