Hacked

enTrY nInE

It's a strange thing, to not be in control over your body. To not be able to speak out loud, only shout within your mind. You can't move any part of yourself. You don't breathe or blink. You just...exist.
Phil walked out of my apartment with the white hood over my...his head. Sorry.
Phil, I thought as he walked, Phil where exactly are we going?
"Somewhere," Phil said through my mouth, "don't pay attention to that. All will become apparent in due time."
I sighed.
Does it feel wierd? I asked. To inhabit a body?
Phil left the apartment doors, walking in a direction I had never gone before. "Wierd...I wouldn't use that particular word, Dan. It's refreshing."
He stopped in the middle of the dark, vacant road.
"There's so much I can do that I haven't done before. I can walk, jump, run."
But you could do all of that in your world, I said, why is this different?
"Because, Dan. That realm belongs to me and, recently of course, you. It is not a physical plane of existence. This is Earth. This is real."
He lifted my hand and put it to my heart. His heart.
"We are real."
Now, that shut me up quite quickly.
Phil, my conscience in tow, walked through the night, his clean white boots making no sound against the concrete.
The moon and stars shone down on Phil through a thin layer of clouds as he turned down a dark alleyway.
There was a door at the end with a sign above. The sign looked like it had once been lit, but the letters on "open" had died long ago.
The air smelled of rust and old perfume.
Phil placed his hands on the door and held them there. I felt a stinging sensation and watched as the metal beneath his hands melted away into blue and red pixels that fell to the ground like snow.
He casually stepped through after that.
The room was small, dimly lit by a violet lava lamp. There was trash and dirty dishes littering the floor, along with folders that appeared to be medical records.
Phil, where are we?
"Cat!" He called out, ignoring me completely. "Cat, get over here."
There was a sound like the rustling of blankets and feet on cold wood.
A young girl, couldn't have been any older than me at the time, stepped out from another door with a gun in her hand. The gun was completely outdated. A twenty-first century handgun.
She wore ripped black jeans and a loose white tank top over a black bralette. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt and...dried blood.
"Who are you?" She said slowly, her short silver hair tangled at the sides of her gaunt face. She wore red lipstick, but it was hastily put on and smeared.
"Cat. It's me."
"You're going to have to make it clearer than that."
"Cat." Phil stepped foreword and spread his hands. The tiny pixels burst from his fingertips and floated to the ceiling. "It is Phil. I have finally found a vessel."
The gun fell from Cat's hands, landing on the floor. She stared up at us, and her lips slowly spread into a relieved smile.
"Eleven years," she whispered, "I've counted the days waiting for you."
Phil, I said, who is this girl?
"This is Cat, Dan," he said out loud, "she was one of the child patients that I cared for long ago." He reached out with my hand and gently ran a hand through her hair. "She is...she is like a sister to me."
"Dan," Cat said, her eyes flashing slightly as she grinned, "thank you so much for putting him back together. I-" she paused, sobbing. She launched foreword and wrapped her arms around Phil and I. He hugged her back, one hand on the back of her head and one on her upper back. The kind of hug mothers give to their daughters.
"Cat," Phil whispered, "do you remember our plan?"
"How could I forget, Phil. Of course."
"This plan will take effect in three days time. Exactly three." Phil pulled away and placed his hands on either side of Cat's head. "Be prepared. Do not let me down."
She nodded and sniffed, wiping the tears from under her black-smudged eyes. "I won't. I promise. We'll do it," she smiled, "for Elliot."
Elliot?
"Yes. Goodbye Cat."
Phil turned away from the girl and let the way he came. I watched as, with a wave of a hand, the pixels floated up from the ground and put the door back together.
Phil, I asked as he walked home, who is Elliot?
He stopped walking.
"You will know in due time, Daniel."
There was a long silence before he cleared his throat.
"Would you like to switch back?"
Yes please, Phil.
He nodded and shut his eyes.
There was a buzzing noise and my clothing began to change again, back to what I had been wearing before.
I room a deep breath and rubbed at my eyes.
"That box," I said, "it's a hard drive isn't it?"
Of course, there was no response. But I knew the answer.
"Alright then," I said, smiling, "let's go home, Philly."

A/N: THIS IS SO FUN TO WRITE HOLY HECK!
Keep sending me fanart for the AU for chapter headers! The header for this chapter is from staurchild on Instagram! Go like the original 😋