It's Been a While (Rackie & Lani; Invite)

Joe squeezed her hands tightly, leaning up and releasing her hand just long enough to feel her forehead. His brows knitted together, teeth grinding as he searched her face. He didn't know what to do, and it was frustrating him greatly. The revolver's wavelength wavered greatly, but Rogue seemed almost deathly calm.

"Just one more... Got it!" He called.

Nana felt the sudden change in Joseph's wavelength, but she was in a situation where she couldn't do much.
Deep in her heart she was happy that Joe cared about her even if only a bit. Once the security of the control unit was broken, The hybrid opened her eyes widely and then closed her eyes. Nana fainted. However, her computer was still functioning, allowing Rogue to finish his job.

Joseph moved to catch her, instantly, holding him limp form in his arms while Rogue moved to finish up the operations. With the code finally inputted, he watched as the Bluetooth signal became lost to the phone, and a sigh of relief escaped him. Jasmine, having finally found the thermometer, reappeared, and seemed only to panic, more, eyes wide as she stared between the three people present.

[The Control Unit has be set to manual mode]
[Administrator privileges has been granted to SU-001]
[Self-destruct sequence has been deactivated]
[Warning: The unit is unconscious]
[Warning: The system reboot is required to apply all the changes]
[Rebooting...]

They did it. They achieved their goal. Nana's mind was finally free. She had now the full control over her own body.
However, Nunally was still unconscious. Her face was pale, and covered in sweat, but she was breathing slowly.

Lifting her carefully off the ground, he carried back to the back bathroom, guided by a frantic Jasmine. Setting her outside of the tub, he stepped away, closing the door behind him. Carefully, Jasmine undressed the girl, caring not for her own clothes as she lifted her, slowly, and set her beneath the cool water. Brushing her hair through, she tried to get the girl's head as cooled off as she could possibly manage.

[Reboot...Complete]
[Welcome back, Nana]
[Decoding the message:]
[Dear Nunally,
If you're reading this, you must've deactivated the control chip, I'v installed in your head. Poor little girl. I'm sorry for setting up such dangerous traps, but it was for our own safety. However, I'm probably dead by now, because if I were alive, you wouldn't have to turn off that little microchip of yours. I'd like to congratulate you and tell you something. At first, you were supposed to be a tool. An obedient assistant to help me with dangerous tasks...But later, I realized that you can become something more than that. You became like a daughter to me. I'm sorry for all the bad things you had to experience because of me and your "leash". From now on you're a free person. I wish you the best in your new life, Nunally. Go, make some friends, find yourself a hobby. Your soul is a bit special..You could go to Death City and start your career as the DWMA's meister. I know you'll make the right decisions in her life. Forge your own path and..please forget about me.
Goodbye, my beloved daughter.
~Professor Edward Chazaam.]
[Archiving...]

Nunally slowly opened her eyes. She could feel the cold water cooling down her body. It quite a pleasant feeling. However, Nana couldn't understand. Why was she in the bathtub? The hybrid quickly noticed someone's hand. Jasmine? Was it her?
The light in the bathroom was bright, it blinded Nana for a second. After her eyes adjusted, she looked at the person who was just brushing her hair. It was indeed Jasmine. "I knew you could do it..." The girl told her weapon with a weak smile on her face. The fever that was boiling her head just a few minutes ago, was disappearing quickly.
Just as her creator wrote: It was the beginning of a new life for Nana. She couldn't wait to start it.

The girl smiled warmly, the evidence of relief clear and plain on her face. Her vivid blue hair clung to the side of her face and shoulder, and the slightest, happy sob broke passed her lips as the weapon heard her partner. Laughing slightly, she pushed Nana's hair from her face, not daring to turn off the water until she knew that it was safe to do so.

"Welcome back, Nana." She said, the water and tears catching her eyelashes as her smile widened. "It's nice to hear you, again."

The water was getting too cold for poor Nunally. The hybrid nodded, her smile was becoming warmer and warmer. It was like, her feelings were slowly charging up and loading. Eventually, she was the one who turned the water off. It was time to end that short bathing time of hers. It was such a great coincidence. Nana was born in a tube filled with some sort of a cold goo and now she was sitting in a cold bathtub, starting a new life.

The girl winked at Jasmine, still giving her that warm smile of hers. "It's nice to be able to normally talk to you again. Actually..I've got a lot to tell you and Joseph." Nana spoke with a tone filled with happines

The chill of the words that usually hung from the hybrid's breath was now gone, and it seemed to visibly relieve tension from the weapon that she didn't even realize was there. Nodding, she stepped from the tub, grabbing a towel for her meister, ignoring the fact that she was dripping wet, herself, and offering the girl a hand out. "First, let's get you decent. Rogue handled you well enough, as an AI-controlled hybrid, but as a girl?" She laughed softly, the mirth showing the clear release, "Let's just say that we don't need to make it more difficult for the poor man, to say nothing of Joseph."

The meister left the tub with a small help from Jasmine. She quickly took the towel from the weapon's hands and started to dry(ooc: or maybe "wipe"?) her body with it. Nana wanted to leave the bathroom as fast as it was possible, to finally experience freedom, she had always wished for. "Is Rogue really that shy? Oh well...But I'd like to thank him for releasing my consciousness from the prison that was my computer." Nana said when she was in the middle of using the towel.
"Ooh...Being free... It's such a great feeling... You know, I feel like I was born again today. Words can't describe my happiness and gratefulness." The hybrid commented

Jasmine merely grinned, wringing her own hair out with a towel. "You have to take into account human things, more, now." She said, amused as she went to go switch into dry clothes, disappearing into the closet. "There's some dry things for you to put on. They might not fit perfectly, but they're something." She poked her head out, the long side of her hair half damp and half frizzy, a different top already adorning her. "I thought we almost lost you."

"Hm..Hey, but aren't my clothes dry? I think, I'll just put them on..." Nunally said, with a slightly tentative tone. The hybrid quickly found her clothes and looked at them. Jasmine's words couldn't leave her head. "You have to take into account human things, more, now.", "I thought we almost lost you". Indeed, Nana almost died because of the security systems of her control unit. "Mhm... Me too. Trust me, the hacking, the fever, and the self-destruction sequence were enough for me to start expecting death." She told the weapon as she put the towel on her head, for no apparent reason. "Human things...Human things..huh? Yeah... I'm starting from a scratch... to be honest. I have a lot to learn."

"And plenty of ways to get there," She said, stepping out in a crop top and faded jeans, tattoos clearly showcased along her arms, up her side, and at her shoulders. "Besides, empathy is now available." Jasmine hopped over, tapping the girl's nose. "It's much easier to understand people when you can empathize with their emotions."

Nunally quickly put her clothes on, so quickly that she probably beat the world record. She took a closer look at her weapon's tattoos. It was the first time when Jasmine's tattoos actually caught the meister's interest. Her thoughts got interrupted when Jazz tapped Nana's nose. The meister blinked a few times before a blush appeared on her cheeks. She didn't know why, but feeling the weapon's finger on her nose embarrassed her. "Y-Yes..I..have to agree. E-everything becomes way easier." Nana said quietly with embarrassment in her voice. She looked away. "A-Anyway...Let's..well..go to Joseph..." Nunally almost whispered. Her blush started to disappear slowly.

Jasmine giggled slightly at the change of tone and the obvious embarrassment in her meister. Shaking her head, she pushed the door of the bathroom open, nodding towards the bedroom door that lead into the hallway. "The boys are probably in Rogue's room."

Nana felt shy out of the sudden. She was a guest at someone's apartment. Everything seemed new to her and it was slighlty embarrasing. "C-Can you lead the way, please?" The hybrid asked her weapon quietly. Why was she so afraid to do anything on her own? Oh well, being controlled by an A.I had some pros after all.

The girl's expression softened further, and she gently took the girl's hand. Saying nothing, she lead her through the hallway and back to the first bedroom. Inside, Rogue was busy on his computer, and Joseph was analyzing stocks from his phone. The assassin noticed their approach first, from his usual senses and his Soul Perception. He glanced up a second before Joseph did. When the girls re-entered the room, the other revolver was immediately standing, looking at them with a worried expression. When the twins' eyes met, something passed between them, telling him what he wanted: it had worked.

With a blush filled with embarrassment. That embarrassment started to slightly annoy the hybrid. Where did all of confidence go? Nana was hiding behind Jazz when they re-entered the room. U-uh...em..I-It works.. Thank you all for uh... Freeing me..." Nana spoke shyly. She was staring at the floor for no apparent reason for a short while before looking at Joseph and then at Rogue. She smiled at them, gratefully.

Pride beamed along Rogue's expression, flashing his chakras in correspondence. He nodded to the girl, though he knew that she would be unable to see him, with her eyes downcast as they were. Joseph, however, approached, stretching a hand out to lift her chin, meeting her eyes with his own. "How does it feel?" He inquired, voice tender but nonetheless cautious.

Nunally's cheeks immediately turned bright red from embarrassment. Apparently, she needed to get used to being touched by other people, even by her weapons. The girl blinked a few times, really fast, not really sure what to say. "O-uh...Eh..I..I feel free. It's a nice feeling..." She told her weapon really quietly, almost whispering.

It took him a moment to respond, having to think over her whispers several times before finally registering what it was that she had said. Smiling softly, he moved his hand to ruffle the top of her hair. He grinned at her, proud. Jasmine rolled her eyes, taking Nana's phone from Rogue and proceeding to look for music, silent, smirking slightly.

Nunally blushed even more and even squealed very quietly with embarrassment. She really needed to get used to her feeling and interacting with other people. "W-Well..I..After my computer rebooted, it's decoded a message written by my creator..." The hybrid told Joseph suddenly. She thought it would interest him.

He raised a brow, looking at her curiously. Rogue, who had returned to his monitors, trying to politely duck out of the conversation, began paying more attention, discreetly. Jasmine looked up, as well, fingers frozen where they held Nana's phone.

Nunally needed a second to actually think how to tell them about the message. She analyzed it carefully and then spoke: "S-So..In that message, Amy creator congratulated me for turning off the control unit. Apparently, he was aware of the fact that when I turn it off, he'll be already dead. Of course, he would never predict that being killed by a group of kishin eggs is what ended his life. In that message, he wrote that from now I'm a free person and that I have to "forge my own path", "find a hobby" and "make friends". Also...Now I know that he thought of me as his daughter.. " Nana told them. In the end of her speech, she became quite nostalgic.

Rogue caught the phone as Jasmine dropped it, nearly diving over to pull Nunally into her arms, holding her tightly but gently. Her smile was wide but tears stained her eyes, her embrace warm and welcoming, joy and pride painted strongly across her face. Joseph, standing back and out of her way, was smiling gently, arms folded in front of him, a slight smirk visible as he watched them.