Ara and Taehyung sat on the couch while Yoongi stood near the fireplace, which was relit thanks to Wendy.  Hoseok was pacing across the room, his brows knitted together and his jaw tight.

“Even if we could find the lab, how would that help?” Hoseok asked.

“I was lied to.  Besides, Chanyeol’s a ROMAN, which makes him virtually unstoppable,” Ara explained.  “Maybe there’s some way to stop him, and even if there isn’t, how will we know if we don’t try?”  She looked down at her hands. “There are also some secrets I want to clear in regards to my parents.”

Taehyung bit his lip.  “I don’t like it. There’s probably a reason they wanted to keep it hidden.”

“They wanted it hidden because they were trying to hide a lie,” Yoongi said, his gaze on the flames.  “It was only a matter of time before things were uncovered.” He looked at Ara. “The flash drive…”

She stared at him.

“That day…” he started.  “I don’t remember much of anything, and my memory was wiped soon after I was brought to the North…but I do remember one thing.”  He inhaled shakily. “It ran like a mantra through my head, but I couldn’t remember what it was for until now.”

Ara leaned forward.  “You don’t mean…”

“Your brother,” Yoongi said.  “He told me the password.” He looked down.  “He told me just in case I happened to live, and needed to help for some reason.”

Her heart began to race.  Hoseok and Taehyung looked at the other expectantly.

“Aegis.”

“A word adopted from Greek by the Romans having to do with protection.  Makes sense, if you ask me,” Taehyung commented.

Ara took the drive out and held it in the palm of her hand.  Suddenly the impossible didn’t seem so far away. Out of instinct, she found herself reaching for the chip slot behind her ear.  She was about to push the drive in when Taehyung grasped her wrist firmly, a look of concern in her eyes.

“Ara…” he started.

She flashed a small smile and shook her head.  “It’s okay.”

He reluctantly released her and watched anxiously as the drive clicked into the slot.

She shut her eyes and doubled over, the information hitting her brain like heavy rain.  She held her head, a dull throbbing sensation taking over. The golden numbers were imprinted in her vision, scrolling down until she reached what looked like a loading bar.

When it reached 100%, she opened her eyes.  Everyone was staring at her expectantly.

They jumped when a voice echoed.

“Welcome to the ROMAN program.  My name is Aurora, an AI created to care for the