As soon as Pepper and Vital began walking away, Ash knew he had to follow them. How he would do that was a mystery, but Ash was no stranger to throwing plans together on the spot.

Bridge knelt down to weed the crops and encouraged Ash to do the same. Ash suspected it was just to give them something to do, as the plants appeared well-kept-or as well-kept as they could be with the dry soil. Ash tugged at one of the few weeds he could find, but his eyes were locked on the road as he guesstimated how far Pepper and Vital had gone. An idea started to form in his head on just how he would listen in on their little talk, but he had to get the timing just right. When they had been out of view for about a minute or so, Ash put his hand to his head and groaned loudly.

"Ugh! Oww...it's so painful!"

Bridge moved closer to see what was wrong, and Ash took the opportunity to flop dramatically onto him. He kept his arms and legs limp as he continued groaning.

"Ash?" Bridge asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

He sounded pretty scared, and Ash felt kind of guilty for the act. But desperate times called for desperate ideas. Or however the saying went. "Oh...I'm sorry, but...it's so bright out here," Ash whispered. "The sunlight...it's just too much for my weak, future-boy eyes."

"Do you...not have the sun in the future?" Bridge still sounded concerned, but there was a dash of confusion in his voice now, too. Maybe Ash was laying it on a little too thick?

He sat up slowly, still with his hand on his head, to demonstrate that his feigned illness wasn't life-threatening. "We do, but we spend so much time inside, you know? Watching TV, browsing the Internet..."

"I have no idea what either of those activities involve," Bridge replied, sounding skeptical and distinctly un-worried.

"They're, um...indoorsy things," Ash said. Then he gave several loud coughs and picked up the book he'd brought. "I think if I just go back inside for a while, I'll be fine. Maybe I can start the prep stuff for dinner tonight? Since Pepper's having that talk with the senator and all?"

Bridge glanced between the crops and the road and let out a long sigh. "I suppose that would be the better use of your time. Follow me, then." He stood and the two of them headed off down the same path Vital and Pepper had taken. The two of them could still be seen on the road ahead, albeit a good distance away. With any luck, Ash would arrive at the castle just in time to see where they would go next without them being aware he was watching from behind.

Jackpot, he said to himself, even as he added an occasional groan for dramatic effect.

#

As Ash had hoped, Bridge didn't watch him too closely when they reached the castle. Ash was able to catch sight of Vital taking a sharp left turn and leading Pepper down a small, fancy-looking hallway. A large tapestry hung on the wall beside the corner, obscuring the view. Ash might have missed the hallway entrance completely if he hadn't seen Pepper go ahead of him.

Bridge tapped Ash's shoulder and asked if he could find his way back to the kitchen from here, to which Ash gave an enthusiastic, "Oh, sure!" Then he remembered he was supposed to sound sick and cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah. I'll be okay. Being out of the sun is making me feel much better already."

"I'm glad," Bridge said. And it did sound genuine. Whether he thought Ash was actually sun-sick or just overwhelmed from the work and making up excuses, he seemed relied to see Ash full of energy again. He bid him farewell and headed back outside, citing his regular work to attend to.

Ash waved good-bye while still keeping an eye and ear on the space around the tapestry. When Bridge was no longer watching, he crept down the small fancy hallway. He did not have to go far to figure out where his targets had gone-the first room off to the right. While the door was closed, it was far from soundproof, and Pepper's voice carried pretty well from behind it.

"...think I might have gotten confused before," he was saying. "See, there's this Source called Scovillain where I come from, but there's also this one called Toedscruel, and I'm pretty fond of both of them..." There was a long pause before he quickly added on, "Erm, I realize neither of those names sound particularly friendly, but I promise they don't mean any-"

"Did I ask a question?" Vital asked.

Ash knelt down beside a decorative table. He was still in full view of anyone else who decided to come down this hall, but at least he wouldn't be spotted if the door suddenly opened.

"Uh..." Pepper squeaked in reply.

"I believe my instructions were to answer any questions I posed to you, but I don't recall asking any yet. Was I unclear in some way?"

Pepper's feet scraped against the ground. "N-no, sir."

"Ah, good. Communication is so important in my line of work. Now, let me be plain. I'm not pressing you to tell me your real Source at this time."

Huh? Ash had to cover his mouth to stop from voicing his confusion aloud. What was the point of talking to Pepper alone, then, if it wasn't to figure out what his real Source was?

"Um, you're not?"

"I would certainly like to know, but it is not my core concern. I'm more curious as to what prompted you to lie in the first place..."

That was the last of the conversation Ash heard before someone placed their hand on his shoulder and pulled him backwards. Ash startled and whirled around, only to meet Bridge's smiling face. "Seems you don't know your way to the kitchen after all," he said in a low whisper. The man had the same expression as Ash's mom when she found messes under the bed of his "cleaned" room. There was no anger, but his knowing smirk that let Ash know he hadn't been fooled for a minute. "Now, I think that's enough listening in on conversations that don't involve you. Let's get you started doing that prep work you promised, hm?"

Ash couldn't argue there and began to follow Bridge down the castle's hallway. There was plenty of activity going on-it was still midday, after all. But he couldn't help feeling kind of isolated. Not to mention annoyed. He'd wanted to know Pepper's Source and why he lied as much as anyone.

It seemed if he was going to take up a career as a spy, he needed a more subtle way to go about it.

#

Ash wasn't sure quite what he should be preparing in the kitchen, but he soon found a large barrel of potatoes sitting in the corner. And most of the old-timey recipes he'd heard of involved potatoes of some kind. He figured he couldn't go wrong with peeling a few of them. He picked four off the top of the barrel, set them on the stone island, and picked up the knife Pepper had been using the night before. Taking care to aim away from his hand, he slid the blade along the first potato's edge, and was kind of impressed at how cleanly the peel came off.

Pepper joined Ash in the kitchen by around potato number five. Which was at least half a dozen potatoes earlier than Ash expected him.

"Hey, you're back already!" Ash exclaimed. "And you're all right!"

Pepper looked nervous and maybe a bit tired, but...nothing like he'd been tortured for information. "'All right,' sure," he said with a yawn. "Awake, debatable."

Ash took a moment to mull over his next question. "Are you really okay? Be honest."

Pepper rubbed his neck and grabbed an apron from a peg hammered into the wall. "I am being honest, and I'm fine." He nodded at Ash's handiwork so far. "Peeling potatoes, huh? I can work with that. Half a dozen more, plus some onions, and I can get a decent hash going."

Ash pouted, even though a hash sounded pretty good. "Right. So what did Marcus say to you?"

"You keep calling him that. I told you before, his name is Vital here."

Ash bit back his snarkier reply. Okay, so he'd slipped a little. They had a serious issue on their hands, and Pepper was getting hung up on names? "Vital, then. He seemed really mad."

Pepper stiffened, debate clear on his face. No doubt the senator had warned him not to repeat their conversation. "He...wasn't happy, and he said he wanted to talk to me again, but I think it'll be fine," Pepper finally said. He tied the apron in the back, then reached into his pocket and fished out a piece of string. He used this to tie his hair back into a ponytail. "I've told you before, the guy's super-protective of this city, but," he swallowed hard, "he's not a bad person."

"The version of him I knew was," Ash muttered. Then he turned and faced the wall. "You weren't there to see it, but...I saw Arceus nearly drown in this...liquid metal. Marcus called it 'silver water.' For a little while, we thought it really happened. That Arceus had tried so hard to help people, only for Marcus to turn around and..."

Ash bit back the rest of his story. He didn't think he'd get so emotional over it. They'd saved Arceus, after all. But those frightening moments remained rawer in his memory than he wanted to admit.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about whatever you saw back then. It sounds terrifying," Pepper said in a gentle voice. "And...I'm sorry for pushing you away earlier today." He reached into a basket for some onions, then got a second knife and stood beside Ash as they peeled and chopped together. "What was it you found in the book? Something about Clefairy?"

Ash resumed his work. He knew Pepper meant to cheer him up, but things were more complicated than that. "Oh. Yeah. It said the meteor from the Michina Town I knew was drawn here by a group of Clefairy. They didn't mean any harm, of course, but it obviously caused some problems." He paused as he ran the knife over the tip of the potato, staying focused so he didn't let it slip. "I was really happy when I read it at first, because I thought, 'Great. if the meteor never shows up in this world, the plants never die out, and no one needs the Jewel of Life." The peel fell away in a single long piece. Which wasn't too impressive, seeing how small these vegetables were compared to modern ones. Or maybe it wasn't the time period at all. Maybe they could grow large produce here too, if they had the rainfall for it. "I was so sure the aftermath of the meteor stopped Michina from flourishing. But what if that wasn't the case? What if the ground just...stopped being good at growing stuff?"

"Usually that's called a drought," Pepper said. "But yeah, as I've heard it, Michina City was built up around an oasis of sorts, fed by a river. But they've had nearly a decade of poor rainfall, the river dried up, and the oasis is...well, what you see now. And they're so far removed from neighboring cities, even ones under the same government, that there's not a lot of help they can get." He made quick work of the onions, and the smell stung Ash's eyes a bit.

"Vital thinks some higher-ups with strong water and wind-based Sources might be redirecting the favorable weather towards their home towns," Pepper continued. "But he's got no way to prove that."

"I see," Ash said. Then he sniffled, his eyes burning worse. He really needed more kitchen practice. "Hey, um...where's ye olde version of the bathroom?" he asked.

"Um..." Pepper nodded down the hall. "Usually you just, uh...take it outside."

"Right," Ash replied as he put the knife down and hurried out. Hopefully by the time he got back, Pepper would have the tear-inducing veggies cooked up somewhere away from Ash's eyeballs.

#

Ash couldn't see too well in the hallway, and he didn't have anywhere in particular to go. He considered walking outside like Pepper had said, even if he didn't actually need a bathroom right now. But where was the exit again? It was hard to tell with his vision blurred from the tears. He wandered past the dining room, where Vital and Bridge were seated beside each other, locked in conversation.

Ash froze when he realized it was a conversation about Pepper.

Apparently the key to being a good spy was to stop trying so hard and just seek out a hiding place from tear-inducing vegetables.

"When you spoke to the boy," Bridge began, "did you...?" He left the second half of the sentence unspoken. Whatever he meant to finish with, Vital caught the meaning.

"Of course not. I couldn't even summon so much as a Water Gun to rescue our crops from that tiny little fire. We were fortunate that Pepper is a quick thinker." His chair scraped against the floor. "Slowking and I will require at least a full day's rest before I can read him. Possibly two."

He uses a Slowking here instead of a Bronzong? Ash thought. That would explain the water-type powers. But if Vital was anything like Marcus...

Well, Ash didn't know what "reading" Pepper was supposed to entail, but it couldn't be good.

"As to what I gathered from our conversation today..." Vital went on. "Without any supplemental insight, I would say he acted out of genuine concern for our harvest."

"So you believe he has good intentions?"

"I believe most people have good intentions. But if a well-intentioned child with a Dark-type Source brings disaster on our home, I can't call myself a proper leader if I don't protect them." He gave a massive yawn, which then morphed into a sigh. "Please let the farmers know I won't be there to help them for a few days. I must get this matter settled first."

"Of course," Bridge said. "But if I may ask, what exactly did you say to Pepper?"

"I told the boy I need no details now, and I hold nothing against him for the lies. I also told him I regret creating an environment in which he felt he could not trust me."

Metal scrapped against the wooden table, the sound of Bridge pulling one of those fancy goblets over. "You said all that?" he asked after he swallowed.

"I am quite skilled at delivering half-truths, my friend. I wouldn't have made it this far in government work otherwise." He gave a small chuckle, almost like he was testing the waters for the right tone. When Bridge didn't laugh in return, Vital cleared his throat and took a loud sip from his own goblet.

"Please don't do anything too harsh," Bridge said. "Even after a year, Pepper seems so unsure of himself. Frightened. I believe he really did get lost in time here. We should help forge a path to the future, not treat him like a threat."

"You'd worry for an outsider at a time like this?" Vital asked angrily, his goblet coming down onto the table with a clang. "Did you see the last harvest? Unless we do something drastic to revitalize Michina's farms, it's the end. This place will become a wasteland. For us, there will be no future."

Ash's chest tightened a bit. Those words sounded so familiar. Had Marcus said them too? For all his certainty that the senator was up to no good, he couldn't deny the guy sounded scared. Really scared. Ash kept walking, not wanting to press his luck and get himself caught again. He went slow enough to catch one more snippet of Vital's conversation:

"In any case, I'm not calling him a threat. He's an unknown. When I have all the information I need, then I will determine the best use for him. If he can help save our home, I will reward him accordingly."