Thank you to sjsreader for reviewing! This is the last chapter, so thank you again to everyone who's stayed with me this far. Enjoy! ^.^

"Wow, it is weird to have a tail again," Alya remarks, rearing up to balance on her hind legs before dropping back down. Her wings are half-furled, light shining amber through the membrane that stretches thin across her bones. Her scales are fox-orange, underbelly paling to soft cream, with all four legs stark black up to the elbows and knees.

A little ways away, Nathaniel– vibrant red-purple colors patterning his scales in an odd contrast to his reserved personality –gives an experimental hop, wobbling as he coordinates an entirely different body than what he's used to. For all that they remember their past lives, muscle memory has acclimated to human bodies rather than draconian. The adjustment period has been… interesting, to say the least.

"You'll get used to it," Marinette assures Alya, trying not to laugh.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Nino attempt to pounce on Adrien, with minimal success. All that Adrien as to do is slide out of the way, and Nino tumbles right past him to land in a heap. In the background, Alix hisses with laughter, already taking short glides across the warehouse floor. Her wings are long and narrow, pink splashed with lime green and streaks of black.

Nino, white-tipped tail lashing, scrambles back up to his feet. Dark brown spines trail down his back, edges accented blue. More stocky than Alya, he's still a bit gangly with youth, but he'll grow into his limbs eventually.

"Dude," Nino spins around and almost trips over himself, "how do you manage all those fancy tricks? I feel like I'm a hatchling all over again."

"Practice," Adrien grins. "Lots and lots of practice. Get used to falling on your face."

Nino sighs. "Great."

It is a clear autumn day in Paris, and on the horizon brews a storm.

Ladybug and Chat Noir have tracked their captured butterfly back to Hawk Moth's lair, and soon, their flight will storm the metaphorical castle. First, though…

"Whatever happens," Ladybug says, soft yet loud enough to carry, "I just wanted to say– it was an honor, knowing you all again."

"What she said," Chat Noir adds, signature grin in place. It's more brittle than usual, though, as all of them remember what happened the last time they clashed with Hawk Moth's forces.

This time, it'll be different, Ladybug vows to herself. This time, we'll win. For good.

Alix rolls her shoulders, tail lashing in anticipation. "You sound like we're gonna die," she laughs, and bares her teeth in a terrifying facsimile of a smile. "Have a bit of faith, hm?"

"Yeah, don't worry about us. Hawk Moth is going down," Kim chimes in, claws curling over the edge of the rooftop.

Alya knocks companionably against Ladybug's side. "It's been an honor knowing you too," she replies, "and it'll be an honor to keep on knowing you for the rest of our lives. Today, we're gonna fight, and we're gonna win."

Ladybug ducks her head, lips twitching despite herself. "Okay, okay." She looks back. "Is everyone ready?"

There is a chorus of affirmatives.

Well, then there's nothing else to do but begin. Ladybug shares a glance with Chat Noir, takes a step, and roars with wings outstretched. Her partner and their flight take up the battle cry, the sound of it echoing across the city like war drums. As one, they crouch, leap–

And, for the first time in millennia, the sun is blotted out by a full flight of dragon's wings.

As per the plan, they circle and swoop around Hawk Moth's lair, announcing to all of Paris that they have returned. If he hadn't been alerted by their war cry, then his attention would've most certainly been caught by how they are flaunting themselves on his doorstep. They planned to draw him out so that they could fight on their own terms, fight him in open skies where they would have all the room they needed to maneuver.

Sure enough, the building seems to shudder, pulse with violet energy, and a swarm of lavender-white butterflies bursts out. There are so many that they fill the air in dense clouds, obscuring vision and spreading across the city in a pale mass. None of them, however, are coated in the dark poison that creates akuma. None of them can infect a person's heart, not unless Hawk Moth lends his own power to their blank wings.

The butterflies are a distraction.

They've taken him by surprise, and the butterflies are a distraction. Thank the spirits above that they won't have to face armies upon armies of akuma this time. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been quietly worried about that.

After a few moments, the butterflies disperse. There are fewer of them than Ladybug would have expected, but, then again, Miraculous wielders have been whittling at his forces ever since their first lives fell. Hawk Moth could never recapture every purified akuma butterfly, and now he is down to a shadow of what he once had. That's good, very good. The Miraculous flight's numbers are lesser than they had been before as well, but despite that, they will still be able to fight on even ground. What they lack in numbers they make up in sheer stubbornness and strength, after all.

Then, out of nowhere, the top of the building explodes.

Actually, that's not quite the right word. It doesn't explode so much as vaporize, turning to dust as a massive shape bursts out into the sun. Hawk Moth is a giant, even among dragons, and he doesn't seem to have changed all that much from what they remember. Amethyst scales ripple, hateful eyes narrow, lips peel back to reveal jagged teeth like sword blades.

"You," he snarls, and his tone is all venom. "You're the first ones. But I killed you."

"Yeah, well, it didn't quite stick," Chat Noir chirps, kitten-playful despite how his eyes are narrowed to toxic slits. "You, on the other hand…"

Hawk Moth is surrounded. A handful of poison-dark butterflies flit around him, but even as his eyes dart to the human onlookers below, he realizes that creating any new akuma would only be a petty distraction. He doesn't have enough butterflies to outnumber the Miraculous flight, so he snarls and pulls that power back into himself. The butterflies stagger in the air as they bleed white, then fly off to join their brethren that are beating a hasty retreat in the distance. Hawk Moth, however, is at full strength.

The massive dragon tosses his head. Time has made him arrogant, secure in his power. "This time, I'll finish the job and rip your souls to shreds," he promises, low and vicious.

Ladybug laughs in his face. "I'd like to see you try," she shoots back. Wings buzzing, she rockets straight up and dives in a head-on attack, screaming out a war cry.

Hawk Moth meets her with all his dark magic brought to bear. Their wings tangle, jaws snapping at each other as Luck meets Corruption in an explosion of crimson and violet. There is a jewel set into the divot of Hawk Moth's throat, into the dip of his collarbone just above his chest, and outlining it are pearl-colored scales in the shape of elongated butterfly's wings. Her claws lunge for it, remembering that this is the source of the unholy power that's kept him alive for all these years. If only they could destroy the jewel–!

Ladybug sees the tail that whips for her head a second too late, but before it can impact her head, a black streak slams into Hawk Moth full-tilt. Ladybug takes the opportunity to disengage, because now she can sense that the jewel is protected with iron-solid wards that would make her claws slide right off. She's smaller than Hawk Moth, too, and knows that she can't match him in a fight of raw strength.

Luckily, though, she's not alone.

"Get the jewel in his chest! It's the source of his power!" Ladybug commands, and her flight answers.

A series of high, clear notes ring out, and five illusory copies of Alya shimmer into attack formation. Orange-white-black flashes spiral out, filling the air as they hide how Rose darts out with Juleka on her wing. Midnight-purple and peach-pink lights flare, Hawk Moth faltering as he chokes on a sickly sweet cloud. The other dragons give him a wide berth as the glittering powder drifts into his eyes, Alix manipulating the winds to keep it contained around him. While that prevents him from going very far, Nathaniel draws a few quick lines into the air, breathes life into it, and sends down a flock of ink-crows that harry Hawk Moth and chip away at the jewel's wards.

Ivan takes the opportunity to slam down on Hawk Moth like a rockfall, not quite matching Hawk Moth in size but making up for it in momentum. They plummet out of the sky and impact the half-vaporized tower with Ivan coming out of it on top, unscathed. Hawk Moth is less lucky. Ivan deliberately angled them so that Hawk Moth would land at an angle, snapping one of his delicate wings. Toxic power crawls up to engulf it, setting the bones back into place, but now he's favoring his other side– and that makes him vulnerable.

Nino swoops down, jaws parted wide as a sonic screech makes Hawk Moth cry out. He's cut off with a startled yelp when the larger dragon lunges, jaws clamping down on his tail and dragging him down, but Kim tackles Hawk Moth to knock him away. Max is right behind Kim, electricity sparking around his claws, and there's a deafening CRACK-BOOM as he calls down a literal bolt from the blue that Hawk Moth only halfway manages to dodge.

Hovering above the scene, Chat Noir lets out a low whistle. "Man, I forgot how vicious they were."

Ladybug laughs. "What, would you rather they weren't?"

Chat Noir watches Hawk Moth leap back into the air after tossing Rose into a building, only to be met with one of Chloe's stingers to the face. Chat winces on reflex, because while he's definitely not sympathetic, that looks like it hurt.

"Nah," he says. "This is good."

Sabrina takes Hawk Moth's moment of distraction to dart in, invisible but for the faint ripple in the air that marks her presence. She taps Mylene, who fades invisible herself, which lets Mylene get close enough to spit some sort of sticky putty that covers Hawk Moth's eyes and glues his jaws shut.

It won't hold, but it's exactly the opening that Chat Noir needs.

Cat-quick, Chat flies into the fray, dodging snapping teeth and swiping claws and beating wings. Destruction bubbles around him, oil-dark bubbles coalescing as reality itself seems to warp. His flight covers him and keeps Hawk Moth immobilized, just long enough for the largest Cataclysm he's ever mustered in this second life to pierce home.

The already-weakened wards crumple like wet paper beneath him, and Cataclysm turns the butterfly jewel to dust.

Hawk Moth falls. He drops from the sky like a stone, utterly limp, and–

Just before his body hits the ground, it dissolves into a swarm of white butterflies.

Ladybug closes her eyes. Finally, finally, he is gone.

They are free.

The very next day, Paris is in shock.

The battle had been quick, but awe-inspiring. It hadn't just been Ladybug and Chat Noir; counting Hawk Moth, a total of fifteen dragons had been documented in the fight. Fifteen. The number was unprecedented. Never had so many dragons been seen at once, not in millennia.

Naturally, rumors abound.

Where did they come from? reporters ask, sitting in front of clips of the battle that are being replayed on news stations all over the city. Who are the unknown ones? Where did they go?

Are they coming back?

Meanwhile, fourteen teenagers chatter amongst themselves before class, cheerfully ignoring the chaos of the world outside. To tell the truth, they don't even know all the answers themselves. Now that Hawk Moth is gone, is there really any need for superheroes in Paris? What are they to do, without akuma to battle? What will happen next?

None of them know for sure.

But those are decisions for another day. For now, they relax, fall back into being regular teenagers, and live their lives. The first time around, those of the Miraculous flight had been forced to grow up too soon, too fast as war crashed down on them, but…

This time, things are different.

After all, the point of reincarnation is getting a second chance. None of them are about to waste it.

Hawk Moth himself was stronger than before, but it didn't feel like it.

Well, that's because he didn't have armies with him this time. We underestimated how much of his power was devoted to simply keeping himself alive, overestimating how much he had to spare for his akuma.

Mm, I suppose he did. Fourteen against one… some might've called that cheating, but I think it was good odds. And, this time, we didn't have to lose anybody.

Yes. We finally did it, after all this time. We can rest now, you know.

...At last.

Good night, Tikki.

Good night, Plagg.

(We'll see each other again in the morning.)