The glow of his unity with The Armored Seven doesn’t last long. His behavior is changing, he can feel it. V finds himself almost relapsing, withdrawing within himself and a majority of daylight he spends hidden in a boxcar. He can hear them calling his name but he ignores them, along with the voices of the Headmistress and the other members of the Union Council screaming at him that he had disobeyed orders, failed failed failed.

When he does manage to fall asleep, he sees flashes of water and sky. Silhouettes sprinting through concrete tunnels. A windshield spilled with city lights. Abstract scenes that cut through his mind's eye like a broken roll of film and it only makes him scream louder.

He's found hours later and Yoongi ends up getting clocked in the jaw out of pure instinct as a result of getting grabbed. He continues to thrash as more hands press him down and a cloth is jammed between his teeth when he snarls and tries to lunge. A needle stabs into the skin of his arm and he cries out, fighting harder against them until the sedative successfully pulls him under and the world goes dark.

//

He comes to in an area of the safe house he's not familiar with. He's sitting in a mountain of pillows and blankets propped up against his back, scraps from bandages and gauze piled next to him. He rolls up his sleeves to see angry red marks on his arms. No doubt from getting restrained.

Pictures and other knickknacks are tacked onto the walls of the loft, warm sunlight filtering through billowing white curtains. Mostly photos of The Armored Seven, he notices, though there are some still, scenic shots of sunrises and the trainyard. Hoseok posing for the camera. Yoongi flipping off the camera.

One just within arms reach grabs his attention. It's a polaroid of seven laughing boys with their arms slung around each other's shoulders. It looks to be several years old, Jungkook still has somewhat of a boyish look to his features. V sees himself sandwiched between Jimin and Jungkook, his mouth open in a wide smile that crinkles his eyes, mirroring the expression of those around him. His blood runs cold.

He looks so different, so foreign, so happy. But it's him, it's definitely him. But why? And how?

A sudden, unbearable pressure crushes behind his eyelids, a deafening ringing filling his ears and he’s knocked to his knees with a cry. The images he sees in his mind are clearer this time. He recognizes the silhouettes and faces as The Armored Seven, the sound of laughter and they're calling a name he doesn't recognize, the water being the ocean they had visited the day before. Another earsplitting screech and V lets out a pained whimper when the images fast forward to a sterile white room. Bound down with leather restraints when the Council talk in panicked murmurs of having to start over, a wasted effort. Pain and blinding white. So much pain and he’s fighting against them. His fingers tear into the jugular of a nearby assistant, wet gurgling and shouts of alarm before he’s thrown back down onto the metal table.

The syringe burying itself into the back of his neck, into his fusiform gyrus. The section of the brain responsible for facial recognition.

A blank slate. Reset the human mind.

"The only reason we've been unable to detain them thus far is for that reason alone. Their name just emphasizes their good fortune,"

"I guess you're really Seven again now, huh? How cute,"

He’s jolted back to the present, back to the loft. He can't breathe. He feels like a dense fog has been lifted from somewhere deep within his consciousness and all the memories come flooding back. The world is spinning too much around him and his eyes are red and tear swollen when he rips down the photograph, sprinting out of the loft as fast as his legs will carry him, desperate to find someone, anyone.

Namjoon greets him with worried eyes.

“I heard shouting, I was about to go check on you.”

V s the photograph into his face, his hand shaking as he struggles to keep his voice steady.

“The person who was with you last, his name was Taehyung, wasn't it?"

A look of agony flickers across Namjoon's features. He won't meet his gaze, like he's looking past him, somewhere far away. He looks as if he's about to cry.

"How do you know that?" he murmurs. V swallows audibly, his throat constricting, tongue like sawdust.

"Because I am Taehyung. I remember now who I was, who I am.

A breath of a pause and he has to stop to collect himself.

“I was a Rogue."

Namjoon's eyes are glistening in the low light. His gaze darts to the picture in his hand, then to look directly at V, frozen in silent terror. He feels like his skin, his entire body is being burned alive the longer he studies him until there's a choked gasp and the gallant leader of The Armored Seven breaks down in tears before his very eyes.

"Jesus Christ, it is you. You act so different, so programmed. We...I-I didn't even recognize you."

He throws his arms around him and V starts crying as well, not holding back as he buries his face into Namjoon's shoulder.

"They made me forget, made me into a soldier."

V wipes his face and holds the photograph like it’s a made of glass, afraid it might shatter into a million pieces just like the life he had been conditioned to believe. He had had a family, brothers. People to rely on when all his life as a Prime, he had been taught that sovereignty equalled strength. Primes were supposed to withdraw themselves, be remote, do everything alone.

Suffer alone.

Unity is what the Union wants, but how can that be achieved when everyone thinks and behaves the exact same way? How can the ideal society be created when brainwashed adolescents are the ones being sent out into the world to create it, ones who have never even interacted with each other?

The picture, his smiling face frozen in time is the only thing keeping him grounded, from slipping into insanity. The only proof that he had been a Rogue. A member of The Armored Seven.

“Tell me what happened to me.”

A broken whisper, his last request.

Namjoon flashes his trademark smile despite the heavy atmosphere.

“Sure. I’ll call everyone now.”

A gentle hand on his shoulder as he brushes past. He suddenly pauses in the doorway, turning around like he just remembered something important.

“And Taehyung?”

There’s a strange warmth that diffuses through his chest at being called by that name. His name, one he’ll have to get used to hearing again.

“Yeah?”

“Welcome home.”

//

After Namjoon’s explanation and the proof of the polaroid, Taehyung is crushed by six other bodies enveloping him in a mass group hug. Seokjin apologizes again, profusely in fact, for being so cold in the beginning, while he himself brings up the fact that he had stabbed Jungkook in his brainwashed state and the two are finally able to make amends with laughing smiles.

Seats are pulled out of the car as they sit around the bonfire, blankets covering their laps in the chilled night air. Then a hush falls over them all and the words Taehyung has been waiting to hear finally spill forth.

He had been taken by the Union on a run gone wrong, Namjoon explains. It had been the peak of summer and they had been exploring the countryside, celebrating their freedom with fast car rides and sleepless nights. Their notoriety had been significantly high at the time, especially after a successful alliance with iGOT7. They had been at the pickup point for their share of dried food and goods when several unmarked vans had pulled up out of nowhere.

“They had been watching us for quite some time,” he murmurs quietly, “they knew our escape routes, our combat styles. But they swarmed you, all of them. It made it impossible for us to fight back.”

Namjoon chews his lip and the popping from the logs is the only thing that fills the silence.

“After you were taken away, things never really went back to normal. I couldn’t protect us, I had failed as a leader and I took us farther away from the city. We closed ourselves off from everyone, cut off our ties, focused on rebuilding ourselves, making our defenses stronger. Years passed, and we were able to somewhat feel whole again. That’s why we all ourselves when a random kid managed to sneak up on us with just a little dagger.”

A chuckle runs through them all. Jungkook has his head cradled in his hand as he stares into the flames.

“We were so paranoid, we didn’t realize who it could have been, and as Seokjin was so nice enough to show you, we just wanted you out as soon as possible. We didn’t know why they had taken you. We thought you died, Taehyung.”

Another pause and Taehyung feels his stomach roll with fire and he throws off the blanket, standing so quickly the others glance up in surprise.

“Seokjin, get your keys. I have an idea.”

//

They pack all the flares and smoke bombs they can cram into their backpacks as they pile into the truck, the drive to the city short with Seokjin’s lead foot. Night has fallen, but they won’t be here tonight to admire the city lights.

Taehyung navigates them to the Union Headquarters like it’s the back of his hand. He hacks and deactivates the password panel in two seconds flat, the only thing he’s thankful for the Union being his Prime education. Smarter than any of them and he can’t hold back his grin.

It’s strange being back dressed like this. Black facemasks and dark leather, shouldering a wooden baseball bat as they cruise down the deserted halls on mud-slicked bikes, staining the polished floors. Class is currently in session.

The glass shatters with a hiss as the bat is brought down upon the windows. Panicked screaming and more exploding glass as Hoseok chucks a canister into a lecture hall, blanketing everything in white. The click clack shaking of spray bottles and it feels heavy in his hand as neon red paint slashes across the corridors.

Amidst the chaos, they duck into rooms and pull out Primes, pushing them toward the exits. Most of them stare blankly, others flinch and recoil in fear. Some dash through the doors and out to the streets. Taehyung wonders how many among them were once Rogues like him, how many adolescents had had their youth taken away.

The Union had robbed him of his most precious memories. They’re still there if he concentrates hard enough, can see scenes pulsate behind his eyelids, but they will never be the same and he’ll never be able to relive them again. It feels like he’s walking around in someone else’s body.

In a way, he is.

V is now Taehyung. Taehyung is no longer V.

They’ll make new memories, he concludes. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe he’ll ask Jungkook to teach him how to fire that slingshot. Maybe if he asks nicely enough, Seokjin will let him take a spin in the truck.

Taehyung snorts. Probably not.

The blaring sound of the emergency security system plunges the entire facility into harsh red lighting and figures dressed in dark riot gear spill out from the end of the hall. Taehyung tenses, but they're ready. ROVIX are on their way for backup, the Rogues can win this fight.

No, tomorrow they’ll go to the ocean.

//

fun fact I just realized I almost titled this chapter as "nein" bc I'm honestly not ready to let this baby go TT_TT

to those of you who read this from the beginning, what do you think?? Anyway, thank you so much for reading. I really had a lot of fun writing the transition from V to Taehyung and the whole dystopian city/controlling govt scenario, I hope you guys enjoyed it!

Another announcement, I'm currenly planning/writing a new story that also features BTS//VIXX//BAP (a gang story YAAA) but I need one group of the three as the main focus and was wondering which one you would like to see as the main characters? I know I mostly write VIXX-centric stories, but I'm down for challenging myself ^^ please leave your answer in the comments and I'll give you guys an update when I get some responses. I'm doing a lot of research for this next one and I'm excited to share with you what I've been brainstorming! Until next time.