Rascal stepped even closer in the window, his animated eyes sparkling mischievously beneath the brim of his baseball cap. He leaned casually forward, resting one paw along the front border of the screen as though pressing against invisible glass.
"Well Jeff, if you like this so much…" he teased gently, voice playful yet mysterious, "maybe you'd rather join me on my side. Let me just take care of that."
Jeff blinked in confusion, leaning away slightly. "Wait, join you? What do you mea—"
Before Jeff could finish his sentence, Rascal tapped something hidden just off-screen. Immediately, the Chronivac emitter on Jeff’s desk flashed brightly, sending out a wave of brilliant blue-white digital energy. Jeff felt an electrifying chill sweep across his skin, every hair on his arms and neck standing upright at once.
"H-hey, what are you doing?!” Jeff stammered, panic edging his voice. He moved to stand but felt himself pinned by an invisible, tingling pressure. His body felt oddly weightless, and looking down he gasped as his hand started flickering, breaking apart into glowing streams of data that shimmered brightly, pixelating with vivid fragments of light.
"Oh, relax!” Rascal laughed playfully, one furry paw raised in a calming gesture. “Just a bit of digitizing. It'll be fun—I promise!"
Jeff looked on helplessly, speechless as his fingers dissolved further, splitting apart into thousands of tiny glowing squares. The tingling surged up his arm, rapidly spreading across his torso. In moments, his legs, chest, and shoulders disassembled into vibrant patterns of flickering computer code, swirling through the air like neon dust toward the computer screen. His vision blurred and pixelated, his whole room fading from sight.
Then, with an audible digital snap, Jeff reassembled suddenly inside Rascal's animated window. He gasped loudly, looking down at his perfectly re-formed body. He was human again, exactly as he’d been moments before—but now made entirely of digital information. Small pulses of residual light faintly coursed along his limbs, tiny streams of data twinkling softly beneath his familiar skin.
Jeff glanced around, disoriented. Rascal stood right in front of him, arms folded, furry gray-and-black tail flicking smugly behind him. Jeff immediately realized that, unexpectedly, he now stood taller and slightly broader than the cartoonish raccoon.
"What—What the hell just happened?” Jeff muttered, bewildered. He stared down at Rascal, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, irritated disbelief creeping into his voice. "I didn’t agree to this. Why am I inside the screen now?"
Rascal smiled innocently, raising both paws with a shrug, his maroon T-shirt wrinkling faintly as he did. "Hey buddy, don't blame me! You wanted closeness—I’m just making things a bit more… personal.”
Jeff shook his head, annoyance and confusion coloring his expression. He folded his arms across his chest and gave a pointed look. "Okay, real funny rascal—now how do I get back out?"
Rascal leaned toward Jeff, chuckling warmly and nudging his shoulder playfully, his digital fur brushing oddly yet gently against Jeff's skin. "Who says you’ll want to get out anytime soon?"