sentient // phan

http//: 24

"Chris I swear to fucking God let me go." A voice spat. I couldn't open my eyes. Or maybe I couldn't close them. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I was dead. "Let me go and I won't rip your head off." Was that Dan? I tried to open my eyes, to look for him, but nothing happened. Oh right. I forgot I was broken.

Another voice chuckled. "I'm not going to let you go. I'm not an idiot." Chris. There was something very sinister about what was going on. But I couldn't figure out what that was.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him." Dan said, shuffling. He grunted with the effort, still moving.

"I'm not the one who hurt him." Chris said, fake-offended. "He's the one who ran out into the rain. I thought you said he could disobey you." Dan scoffed.

"Don't pretend it just naturally rained, Chris. It doesn't rain anymore. That's not a thing." Dan lowered his voice. "Let me save him. Please. I know what-"

"You think I can let you save him? After he met his family? What if he figured out a way to tell everyone we're downloading actual human consciousnesses into a shell? The world will be outraged!"

"That's not my problem," Dan spat, shifting some more. It seemed he was tied up. "Let me save the man I love, please." So many things were whizzing around in my brain that I couldn't process any of it. Human consciousness... man I love... save him...

Chris just scoffed again. "What a shame it would be if Dan Howell, the young millionaire, after finally getting over his fear of robots, was brutally murdered by the very droid he fell in love with? It'd be quite the scandal."

"Phil would never do that." Dan whispered, almost uncertainly. Chris laughed.

"Want a bet? You were wrong before." He moved in my direction, and then his voice was very close to me. "Phil. On." My eyes began to spin and the world grew into reality, then into focus.

Everything hurt. Everything hurt really badly and I just wanted to shut off again. But, instead, I sat up, and the error message displayed in my sight again. I was going to die. I was going to shrivel up and die with the amount of pain coursing through my veins.

I turned my head to Chris, none of my actions my own, and found I couldn't speak. I had a long string of choice words I wanted to use just then, but none came. I just stood, my body sending electrical shocks everywhere and forcnig my movements to be jerky and rough. I couldn't even move my left arm.

"Phil, I want you to kill Mr. Howell." Chris hissed.

"Phil, no, stop!" Dan said, struggling against the ropes that bound him tightly to one of our dining room chairs. "Why are you doing this, Phil?" I couldn't do anything but walk toward Dan. Chris decided to answer for me.

"Because he's injured. So he goes back to his maintenance programme. Which means he only obeys to one voice alone. Mine." I stopped in front of Dan, and just watched him for a second. The way his hair moved when he shook it out of his face. The way his lips moved around the words he spat at me, trying to get me to stop.

"Phil. Phil, please. Please. I need you to listen to me, Phil. It's Dan. It's your best friend. I love you, Phil. I love you. Please don't hurt me."

"He's not going to listen, Dan." Chris laughed, appearing behind me. He held a knife out to me, and I took it slowly, gently. My body was not my own. I hurt everywhere, nothing was working right. I could barely see thanks to the large flashing error in my way.  I couldn't feel any of my limbs. I was trying to speak to Dan, to tell him I loved him too, but nothing was happening. My body was shot- I had maybe a minute left until I completely died.

So if I could manage to stall for that long, maybe I'd die before I'd hurt Dan.

"What's going to happen to him? Once he kills me." Dan asked, flinching away from my knife.

"Well, obviously, we can't use the same consciousness anymore. I suppose the Phil part would just be thrown out. It was an experiment, of course. See how well the ⅗ block worked." Chris put his hand up, and I stopped, mid-stab. My mind was racing, my vision was blackening. I would have killed Dan. I couldn't have stopped it. "Ah, but you figured out a way to get past that, did you? Clever boy... I'm not sure why I agreed to let you have him in the first place. Maybe for the Dan Howell stamp of approval. If you liked your PL-34071, then everyone would want one. That means more money made, and less scum running the streets of the Lower Level." Chris was rambling now, not even talking to me or Dan.

I could move my eyes. I could move them by my own accord. I looked to Dan, and blinked three times. I wondered if he knew what it mean. I. Love. You.

Whether or not he understood my message, he understood that I was still in here. That I would do everything in my power to stop whatever programme was controlling me. That I'd stop Chris from plucking people up off the streets and turning them into robots, just to make a few credits. I could hardly think of anything fouler.

Dan blinked three times back, then turned to Chris.

"So, Phil, the real Phil, he was from the Lower Level?" Dan asked. Chris looked up at him as if he just remembered Dan was there. But his face split into his signature dazzling grin.

"Yes. But, of course, you knew that. He met his family. They would surely recognise him. He looks the same, of course, because his soul wouldn't attach to a body that was at least similar." He pressed a hand to my face, running a thumb along my cheekbone. Dan gritted his teeth and pulled against the ropes some more. I knew they wouldn't break; they were designed that way. But he still pulled against them as hard as he could, anger burning in his eyes.

"But now, he is perfect. Perfectly romantic. Beautiful. Makes meals, too. And just enough humanity left to actually love." He chuckled, stepping away. "Look at me, monologuing on like that. Enough of this. Phil. Kill him."

I fought it. I fought it really hard. My ruined hand started to shake. I opened my mouth, looking Dan deep into his eyes. He seemed to have resigned himself to this death. I could almost hear his thoughts. First Dad, then Mum. How fitting that it's now my turn to get murdered by a droid.

"No." I whispered. Chris sputtered.

"E- excuse me?" He asked. Dan smiled, his eyes softening, tears pooling in the edges almost immediately.

"I said no. I will not kill him." I spat, turning to him now. I could almost feel myself ticking down. My body wasn't going to last much longer; it was now or never. Chris stumbled backward into one of our breakfast bar stools, knocking it over, forcing him to the ground. He cowered against the wall, holding his hands up in surrender.

"P-p-please, Phil, don't hurt me. I'm your master. I'm your creator. Please." He stuttered. I brought the knife down, and he flinched.

Dan's newly cut ropes fell away and he stood quickly, pouncing on top of Chris, punching him square in the face.

The knife fell out of my hand as I finally dropped to the floor, my body spent. My eyes slid shut.

"Phil!" Dan shouted, dropping to my side. His knees hit hard right next to my side. I tried to tell him it was useless, but I couldn't do anything.

He ripped my shirt away and yanked open my chest hatch, mumbling.

"Oh no. Oh, God." I knew everything in there was way beyond repair. If that small amount of water ruined me those months ago, then I was destroyed. Chris had broken me beyond repair.

"You hit me!" Chris said, exasperated.

"Shut the fuck up!" Dan screeched, prodding wires and circuit boards. I knew it was pointless.

"I love you." I whispered. Dan began to cry, falling across my chest.

"Please don't leave me, Phil, please." But everything went dark.