And here we are! Finally at the end. Just to let you know, this is the longest 'Christmas Special' I have ever written. It's twice as long as I'd expected it to be, and this last chapter is a doozie on its own!

I hope you all enjoyed this journey, and that you will take a look at my Power Rangers story, Mighty Morphin' Orange! I plan on doing a prequel to this at some point where I show how Nat got into all this. I also hope to write a sequel so that I can enjoy having more Nat/Zitao cuteness! In the meantime, enjoy this last chapter!

Chapter Eight

Underground Kings

New Year's came and went. Nat and Zitao were both busy and couldn't do anything but talk on the phone. Nat was starting to get a little concerned. SM was pushing the group hard. It was cool for the fans, but the members were looking tired. Zitao begged her not to make a fuss, insisting that they'd be alright. Nat agreed, but she kept an even closer eye on the situation as she returned to her own work.

It was almost a month later that everything fell apart. It was about the middle of the day for Nat, but a glance at the World Clock on her phone let her know that it was extremely early in the morning when Zitao's call came in.

"What are you doing up already?" she asked, concerned.

"Nat, have you heard from Kris?" Zitao's voice sounded worried, and Nat froze.

"No. Why? What's happened?"

"He's not in the dorms. He's not anywhere! We can't find him, and he's not responding on the communicators."

"With his powers, he could be anywhere," as she spoke, Nat hurried to her wall display and began pressing buttons. "How long has he been missing?"

"At least an hour."

Nat heard sounds from the other end of the phone, then Suho's worried voice. "The managers think he's run away."

Nat's display pinged, and she sighed in relief. "He hasn't taken his communicator off. I know where he is." Relieved exclamations erupted from the phone, and Nat got the impression that there were more than just Zitao and Suho on the other end.

"Where is he?!"

"Let me see if I can talk to him first, okay? If he left without talking to you guys, he might not like it if you suddenly showed up and demanded answers. I'll talk to him first and then call you back." Nat didn't wait for a confirmation before hanging up. "Wu Yifan, you'd better have a good explanation for this," she muttered under her breath as she keyed for transport.

Nico DiAngelo was waiting for her at the entrance to Camp when she arrived. "When did he get here?" she asked, not bothering to say hello.

"Last night," Nico replied calmly. "He begged us not to tell anyone. But he knew you'd come. He's with Chiron in the Big House."

Nat strode past him without another word. When she reached the house, she entered without knocking. She could hear low voices from the living room, and quickly followed them. Only when she saw Yifan sitting on the couch with Chiron folded into his wheelchair did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Yifan looked up, cringing a little when he saw her. He stood, his hands twisting nervously "Nat, I-."

Nat didn't give him a chance to say anything else. She strode across the room and yanked him into a hug. "Never do that again. Do you understand?" He nodded, leaning down to wrap his arms around her in return. After a few moments, she pulled back and gave him a soft look. Then she punched his shoulder. Hard. Protesting and rubbing his shoulder, Yifan sat back down, wincing. "That's for leaving without saying anything and making everyone worry! Did you really think they wouldn't look for you? That they wouldn't call me as soon as they knew you weren't there?"

"I didn't know what else to do. I can't work with SM any more. They push us so hard. If it weren't for Yixing's powers, I would've left sooner. They don't respect us, they don't give us the time we need to rest. You saw how they were with Minsoek when you were getting out of the hospital. They knew he was here to go through tests of his powers, but they made him jump back and forth to work with our Winter album. I can't take it anymore."

Nat sat down on the couch beside him as Chiron quietly wheeled out of the room. "Did you talk to the others? Ask them what they want to do? SM is being unfair to the whole group, not just you. There are other options besides vanishing in the night and trying to do all this on your own! They look up to you, Yifan. They need you. You all have stayed together this long because you're a family. You can't just abandon your family."

Yifan nodded, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he looked into Nat's. "I need your help," he whispered. "I was hoping Chiron would be able to recommend a good lawyer but, maybe you know someone who'd be better than anyone he'd suggest?"

"It's true that some of the best lawyers are in New Rome, but there are a couple in New York who, I think, would be perfect for your situation. It'd be good for their firm, too, to have such a high-profile case." Nat reached over and squeezed Yifan's hand gently. "Go back, talk to the other members. Once you've all made a decision, let me know, I'll call my guys."

Nat didn't have to wait long for the call. Suho's voice was the one that came through the phone, asking that she get them in touch with the law firm she'd suggested. She gave him the number for Matt Murdock's firm and told him to call her if there were any problems. Once she'd hug up, she left camp and got transport to SHIELD headquarters. Phil would need to be made aware of Exo's change in circumstances, and she wanted to have him available for back up if needed.

It turned out to be a good thing she did, too, because SM pushed back hard. They accused her of convincing the group to leave, and released photos of her and Zitao together to make Exo-Ls angry. It worked. It was only thanks to the security system she already had in place that hordes of angry fans hadn't managed to break down her door.

The whole group felt terrible about what she was going through, and tried to ease things by releasing their own statements via Twitter and the News. They assured fans that the group was going to stay together, and begging fans to leave Nat alone as she was one of the people helping them get away from SM's abuse.

Nat couldn't help being a little angry at her fellow fans. The Exo-Ls should be angry at SM for everything the company had put Exo through. Instead, they were allowing the company to continue manipulating them and making it difficult for the boys to escape. Due to the intense scrutiny, Nat hadn't been able to visit any of the Exo members in weeks, lest they draw attention to the Cooperation and expose them before the world was ready.

She got daily updates via Matt, and kept up with the theories and speculation on the fan sites. One of her favorite things, was the support that Exo was getting from another group, BTS. The boys in that group had come out with several live streams where they wished Exo good luck, and urged their fans, ARMYs, to support Exo and not start fights with Exo-Ls like they were prone to do. As an ARMY herself, Nat appreciated the support from her second favorite group.

In all the drama, Nat didn't even remember about her birthday until the day before when her mom called to ask if she'd be coming over for her party. Nat agreed quickly, eager to do something to get her mind off the difficult situation, even if only for a few hours. "Make sure you invite your boyfriend, Punkin'!" her mom said casually before hanging up.

Nat had done her best to shield her family from the reality of what was going on with Exo. They knew she was dating a celebrity, but she hadn't told them who yet. Ideally, this would be the perfect time to introduce him to her family. Everyone would be trying to remain civil and polite so as not to ruin her birthday. Unfortunately, it was also terrible timing. SM was pushing hard to keep Exo, and that meant that Matt and Exo were having to fight back hard to keep things from sliding backwards. Getting Zitao to transport over was likely going to be impossible, but Nat also knew that, if she didn't at least ask, he would be very disappointed in her.

When the timing was right, she called Zitao, smiling when she heard his voice. He sounded tired, but happy. That seemed to be the general mood lately among the group. They were all glad they were finally putting the years of pain behind them.

Nat and Zitao chatted for a few minutes, before he brought up her birthday on his own. "I was thinking of seeing about transporting over tomorrow. We don't have anything major happening tomorrow, so I thought you might want to do something."

"Actually, my parents are throwing me a party," Nat told him quietly. "They invited you. I thought it would be the perfect time for them to meet you." There was silence from the other end of the phone for a moment. Nat bit her lip nervously. "If you don't want to, that's totally fine!" she assured him. "I don't want to push you into anything. We haven't been dating very long. If you don't think it's a good idea then-"

"Xing," his gentle voice stopped her babbling before it could get any worse. "I'd love to meet your family. I'm just surprised that they'd want to meet me. After all, it's because of me that you're in the mess you're in now. I wouldn't blame them if they totally hated me for putting you through all this stress."

"Well… I haven't exactly told them who you are yet." More silence. "Are you mad? I know I said I'd tell them, but with everything going on, I just never got around to it, and now this is happening and-,"

"Jagia!" The Korean word stopped her more suddenly than his previous interruption. Zitao usually used Mandarin words exclusively when he talked to her. Hearing him use Korean really got her attention. "I'm not mad. We'll figure out what needs to happen when it happens. In the meantime, we'll transport over in about an hour, so make sure there's plenty of pizza available."

Nat laughed, her tension bleeding away slowly, then she stopped. "Wait… we? Who's we?"

Zitao laughed. "You didn't think we'd let you celebrate your birthday on your own, did you? We have a few things to finish up, and then the whole group is transporting over. We have a great birthday surprise for you! I'll see you in an hour. Love you!" Before she could say anything else, Zitao hung up, and Nat was left holding the phone limply in her hand.

She turned to Daniel, who'd leapt up onto the couch and was purring as he rubbed his head against her arm. "The whole group is coming in an hour." She glanced around the living room. It was a little bit of a mess since she'd gotten a little lazy during her confinement. "The whole group is coming in an hour." She glanced down at her outfit, lounge pants and a comfy sweatshirt. "THE WHOLE GROUP IS COMING IN AN HOUR?!" She stood quickly, tossing her phone onto the couch. "Friday, put on some music. I have an hour to get this place cleaned up and get myself presentable. Make it peppy and make sure that, when I'm getting dressed, I feel like I'm in a movie!"

Fifty-nine minutes later, Nat stood in the tidy living room wearing a light blue top, bright blue skirt, dark blue leggings, and black flats. Her hair was dyed with streaks of metallic blue, and jet black earrings glinted in the light. She grinned as, in a flash of white light, all twelve members of Exo appeared in the space she'd cleared for them.

Zitao barely had time to set down the colorfully wrapped box in his hands before his arms were full of squealing girlfriend. He buried his nose in her neck, breathing in the floral scent of her body wash and shampoo. After several stressful weeks apart, it felt amazing to finally be able to hold her again.

The moment was interrupted by Baekhyun who tapped on his shoulder impatiently. "You aren't the only one who hasn't gotten to see her!"

Nat broke out of the hug with a laugh, sliding out of Zitao's arms to wrap hers happily around Baekhyun's neck. "I've missed you, Oppa!" She made the rounds of the other members, giving Minsoek an extra-long hug and wishing him a late birthday. His had been four days before, but she hadn't gotten a chance to do anything other than text him.

Nat's birthday presents consisted of every single movie or drama that any of the members had ever been in, including advance copies of xXx: Return of Xander Cage and The Great Wall which had come out in January and February respectively. She also got several articles of Exo merch, and even a few plushies that she promptly insisted on taking pictures with along with whichever member gave it to her.

After about half an hour of chatting and enjoying each other's company, the replicators were raided for pizza and drinks and they all settled down to marathon her new DVDs. By midnight, they had all fallen asleep, sprawled on the couches and floor

When Nat woke the next morning, she almost had déjà vu from the night everyone had stayed over before their last day of testing. She was lying on someone's chest, could feel several other forms lying on her, could see Luhan and Jongdae on the floor, and could smell something amazing cooking in the kitchen.

She pushed herself up a bit and looked up, smiling when she saw that she had ended up sleeping on Zitao. Her movement woke him and Yifan, who'd fallen asleep between her and the back of the couch. Somehow, Baekhyun had ended up on top of the two of them, but he was quickly woken when Yifan shoved him onto the floor, also waking Minsoek who got landed on.

The thuds brought Kyungsoo in from the kitchen carrying a plate piled with fluffy pancakes. The scent woke the remaining members who hadn't been startled by the noise. Breakfast was eaten after a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' in three languages. Afterward, Nat let Zitao show them the guest rooms and let them get cleaned up while she did the same in her own room.

When she emerged, it was to find that the living room had been crammed with more people! Seven more boys, still wearing face masks and hats, had just crowded into the already packed space. "What is going on?" she asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the floor.

The tallest of the new arrivals pulled off his mask and hat and grinned at her. "We heard you were a fan. Thought you might like a special birthday present." It was Kim Namjoon, the leader of BTS! The other six pulled off their masks and hats to reveal all the members of BTS.

Nat could hardly believe her eyes! She covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes going wide as she stared at her second favorite K-pop group of all time. Her eyes flitted to Zitao, begging him silently to help her. With a grin, he came forward and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "If you'll give us a moment, she needs to reboot." Everyone laughed as Zitao led his frozen girlfriend into her bedroom and shut the door.

He sat her on the bed and then crouched in front of her so he could look up into her face. Gently, he pulled her hands away from her mouth which was open in astonishment. "H-how?" she stammered. "Why?!"

"We wanted to tell you all together," he began, smiling. "But I think it might be better if I just say it now so you can process."

"Tell me what?"

"BigHit has offered us a contract. They'll let us stay together and let us relax when we need to. Let us heal. Let us do what we want when it comes to our powers."

Nat stared at him, her face going blank for a full thirty seconds. "That's fantastic!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and laughing joyfully. "How long have you been sitting on this?"

"Only a few weeks. We wanted to get things settled before we told you. Figured you'd like finding out for your birthday."

Nat pulled back from him so she could gaze into his face, leaving her arms around his neck. "This is the best present ever. I'm so happy for you guys!" With a grin, Zitao leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss.

When they broke apart again, he asked, "Ready to go out there?"

Nat laughed. "Yeah! I'd better call my parents and let them know there'll be a few extra people though!"

Nat's birthday party was fantastic. She spent most of her time getting to know the members of BTS, and thanking them for being so supportive of Exo during this time. Jungkook and Jimin, her two favorites, made it a little hard for her to maintain her calm exterior so Exo ran interference so she could calm back down occasionally.

Her parents loved Zitao, and all the other Exo and BTS members as well. Her parents weren't exactly in the loop on what Nat did for her job, but that didn't stop them from being proud of her.

Nat's younger brother, Brian, connected quickly with Baekhyun, earning the older boy's respect when he snapped at Taehyung for staring at Nat for too long.

The evening culminated with a large cake and more presents which Nat had plenty of help with carrying back to her apartment. The BTS boys had another day they could stay in the States, so everyone crowded back into Nat's apartment for a night of movies.

When they woke the next morning, all piled on top of each other, Nat took them to Camp Half Blood where the Exo members introduced their camp friends to BTS. Nat ended up spending the day hanging out with each BTS member in turn since Annabeth wanted to finish her tests on Zitao and had kicked his girlfriend out after only thirty minutes of trying to get him to concentrate.

Around the campfire that night, all nineteen boys blew the camp away as they sang song after song. Everyone kept demanding encores, especially Apollo and his cabin. They ended the night with a song that Zitao and Yifan had written together. It was a rap that they planned to release when things got completely wrapped up with SM. Its lyrics were written to remind SM what they'd lost when they didn't treat Exo right.

When it was over, a roar of applause echoed through the woods, reaching for the stars and beyond. Nat pulled Zitao into a kiss before they were swamped by hugs from all their friends. No matter what the following months would bring, they would face this together. Natasha Higgins and her Underground Kings would become an unstoppable force against the world; never to be broken apart.