Under The Skin

Chapter 8

Keegan looked up at the quaint house before her, now a little nervous. Zephyr nudged her cheek, crooning encouragingly.

"Right, I just have to ring the doorbell, right?"

"Chu!"

"Here goes!" Keegan said, pushing the tiny white button. The sound echoed through the house, followed by silence. She hoped she hadn't caught them while they were eating, she had made sure to get to know the town first before coming over so it was now about mid afternoon.

There was the scuffling of tiny feet, and soon a yellow head was poking out from a small door planted into the bigger one.

"Pikachu!" it said, glaring up at Keegan.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is your trainer not in?" Keegan asked as she kneeled down, closer to the Pikachu's level. "I came from Professor Oak's lab, I'm here to meet Ash Ketchum. Is he at home?" The pikachu seemed to soften a bit, but was still wary. Zephyr hopped down to the ground, and began to talk with the other pikachu, making wide hand movements as he did so. The other Pikachu nodded, then vanished inside of the house. Zephyr clambered back onto Keegan's shoulder as someone a lot bigger than a pikachu hurried to the door. Keegan watched nervously as the door opened to reveal a red head who was looking agitated and curious at the same time. The look made Keegan want to giggle.

"Hello." Misty said, looking Keegan up and down. Keegan did so as well, noting the telltale rise of Misty's abdomen.

"Hello. Um, I'm Keegan, I was looking for Ash Ketchum. I'm new to town and staying with the Oaks, and they suggested I come and visit." She explained, growing nervous once again. Misty broke out into a smile almost instantly and invited Keegan in, or more like she dragged the poor albino through the door.

"It's good to meet you!" Misty said happily as she shut the door behind Keegan. Keegan giggled nervously as she removed her dirt caked boots. "Daisy actually said you came to Gary looking for answers to your questions about yourself. Honestly, can't blame you. I wonder if I can get Gary to explain how Ash works sometimes. Honestly, that man in a mystery."

"I hear he's a great trainer." Keegan said as she followed Misty down a pale blue hallway.

"Oh he is, he is." Misty said, smiling. "But he can act like a mature adult one second, then be an immature fiver year old the next. He wears me out sometimes."

"I'm sure the actual kid doesn't help either." Keegan pointed out. Misty blushed happily.

"No, not really. I still can't quite believe I'm pregnant. Ash is enjoying it though, despite the grief I'm putting him through." Misty laughed. "Go ahead, sit down." Misty indicated the kitchen table and Keegan did so as Misty pulled out snacks.

"So, where is Ash by the way?" Keegan asked out of curiosity. Misty shrugged.

"Who knows. His Ranger buddy came in a few days ago. Seems the head Ranger of his base died a few weeks ago unexpectedly and unexplainably. He's on a bit of a vacation." Misty shrugged. "I never met the man, but Ash did briefly."

"I wonder what he was like." Keegan said, picking at some strawberries. "It's always sad when you lose someone close to you."

"You're right. We almost lost Gary a few years ago. But I'm sure you heard about that." Misty said. Keegan shrugged.

"Not much. I just know he was in an accident and has had amnesia ever since."

"Well, Ash would be able to let you know how close to dying Gary was. He was the first one besides the Rangers and hospital personnel to see Gary. From what Ash tried to tell me, he was nearly unrecognizable. It had been some sort of explosion, enough to mangle a car to beyond recognition." Misty sighed. "He was in a coma for three months, I have to say, those were the hardest three months I've ever lived through. He kept fluctuating between bad and good health. Every time it looked like we would loose him, something made him pull through. We figured those were the times he was most conscious so we tried to talk to him as much as we could when he was fighting to regain his health.

"Oak cried for days after Gary woke up for the first time. He was so happy." Misty rambled, not registering the shocked look on Keegan's face.

"Does anyone know what happened? Didn't the Rangers see?" Keegan asked abruptly. Misty shook her head.

"No. And no one can do any sort of investigation until Gary can remember. It's a cold case."

"What if it was Team Rocket?" Keegan asked, trying to find a clue, anything to help her understand.

"No way. Gary was as far from team Rocket as Ash was from being completely out of their way. He just somehow got wrapped up in all their plans, foiling them every time. Wasn't any room for another trouble maker, they made sure of that." Misty said. Keegan shook her head, still confused.

"That just makes no sense, if a car he was riding in was that badly mangled, he didn't make it explode. It's just not possible."

"That's how we know some one was out to get him." Misty said. "He hasn't stepped foot in a car since. He may not remember what happened, and we never elaborated, but his body remembers."

The two young women sat in silence, watching the two pikachu playing on the floor. They were getting along incredibly well, and their movements were nearly the same. Keegan was quickly discovering that there was more to the sullen man than she had ever thought, and was curious to know who he really was. She decided to change the subject, and instead began to question Misty about the baby until Ash returned. They happily chatted about things unrelated to Gary Oak, both on the same train of thought.

It was nearing dinner time when Ash finally returned, Jack in tow. Keegan was helping Misty prepare the food, having fun learning how to cook something more than the simple meals she made for herself out in the wild.

"Misty! Where are you?" Ash called. He was soon heard humming happily as he smelled the food. Jack started to laugh when Ash squawked, indicating Pikachu and Zephyr had tackled him. The young man came into the kitchen, the Pikachu's hanging off his head.

"Mist, when did we get another Pikachu?" He asked.

"Since Keegan came to visit." Misty said, indicating Keegan.

"Hey!" Keegan said, making a peace sign. "I'm staying with the Oaks right now."

Ash blinked, clueless for a moment before grinning broadly.

"Oh! I remember now!" He laughed. "Sorry. Oak warned me you might be coming over, said we had the same sort of connection with Pokemon." Ash said, picking Zephyr off of his head. "You have an interesting Pokemon here."

"Thank you, so do you. I heard about your first meeting." Keegan laughed as Ash blushed.

"Yeah, I wasn't the best trainer, but I'm glad I got him anyway. He's my best bud." Ash said, hugging Pikachu who cooed happily. "Oh, meet Jack, He's a Pokemon Ranger.

"Please, call me Jakkie." Jack said with a wink.

"Nice to meet you, Jakkie." Keegan laughed. "I'm Keegan."

"Keegan?" Jack froze as he went to shake her hand. He burst out laughing a moment later. Keegan scowled, splaying her feet and crossing her arms. She had heard about this guy…

"What, got a problem with my name?" She asked defensively. Jack wiped the tears from his face.

"Sorry, but yeah. I normally find it a pretty odd name when it's for a guy, but a girl…" He burst into laughter again. "Oh… I wish Keegan could've met you. He'd have loved it. That man was the best."

"I heard what happened, I'm truly sorry." Keegan said, tucking a strand of long white hair behind her ear.

"Ah, it's okay. He wouldn't want his passing to be mourned anyway. He was a really upbeat guy."

"I bet." Keegan smiled, placing her hands on her hips, her feet still parted in a defensive stance. Jack blinked, tilting his head. Keegan moved and he decided to pass of the feeling of deja-vu. His Keegan used to make that stance whenever he was giving an assignment or a lecture.

The night passed quickly, Keegan and Ash chatting aimlessly about pokemon. Misty and Jack joined in a few times causing the conversation to become very heated at their different views. Keegan decided to leave finally as Zephyr fell asleep in her lap. She shook hands and left, thanking the Ketchum's and Jack for the wonderful time. Jack watched after her for a bit, still confused. There had been several other times that night that something she had said or did reminded him of his superior. The girl was a mystery, that was for sure.

Unbeknown to Keegan, she had just gained three more peoples trust to get Gary back to the way had used to be. She had so much hope riding on her, and she didn't even know it as she walked along the darkening streets with a smile on her face.

***********

Gary sighed and turned his desk light off. Keegan Evo's file was finished. Why her name meant something to him, he didn't know. Every time he thought of her, something in his mind stirred. As usual, the headache came with it so Gary ignored it. He didn't feel like fainting anymore.

It had only been a day since she had come in, since the 25th. It felt like so much had happened, but in truth very little had. It was almost the end of the year, and Gary felt weary already having to pull himself through another winter. At least he had a new project to occupy his time with. Keegan's DNA should keep him busy, and despite what he tried to tell himself, he was curious about how the genes looked in an albino human. He would start tomorrow, he was too tired to tonight.

Gary got ready for bed, skipping dinner, and turned out his bedside table light. He was just drifting off to sleep when Eevee wiggled out from under his arm and slipped to the bedroom floor. She hopped up again awhile later.

"Where'd you run off too?" Gary wondered groggily, only receiving a lick on the chin. He curled up again, vaguely noting he was more comfortable than normal, that he was holding something else, but he drifted off to sleep with out thinking on it.


OKay! how'd you like that one?

And there is a lot about Keegan that people seem to recognize, huh? XD

anyway, lots of foreshadowing here

Here's to hoping you stick with it! thankx for reading my story thus far, Kudo's to you! *toasts readers*