To Lyger 0: Dhuan wasn't exaggerating when he said a user needs to focus on exactly what they are trying to convert to energy!
The Howl echoed through the ruins.
"Doggedness!"
Energy surged through Ladybug's system. All of her nerve endings seemed almost to be on fire. The dead weight of Cat Noir on her shoulder suddenly felt far less heavy, and she shifted her grip on him, balancing him carefully while spinning her yo-yo constantly in a shield. She could bear this weight, just a little longer. Though her exhaustion remained, it had been pushed back, out of her mind. There would be time to worry about that later. For now, she had to stop the Beasts in front of her. But she wasn't alone in this. Her team was around her.
They could do this.
The Turtle let out a piercing shriek and threw its head back in outrage, struggling to free itself from the Hound and Bunyip, with lasso and pocket watch looped around its neck. The Hound gritted his teeth, his heels dragging through the mud and throwing up clods as the Turtle shook its head, pulling him up off the ground. With a yelp, he swung around, twisting his body in a bid for some measure of control. The Turtle snapped furiously at him as he flew in front of its face. There was a crackle of electrical energy, and a puff of smoke emitted from a spot on the Turtle's cheek. A dozen vines emerged from the ground around the Turtle's legs and twisted around them and over its shell. The Hound released his leash from the Turtle's neck and spun through a back-flip to land by Ladybug.
"Nice of you to join us, Band–" The Hound froze and cocked his head to one side in confusion, one miraculous ear standing up. "Who the hell are you?"
A man with green skin and multicolored hair stood next to Ladybug, folding his arms. "Is that the way you greet someone who just saved your life?" he asked. "Call me Thorn. That's Hornet," he added, nodding toward the Turtle, which reared back as repeated electrical discharges struck its head. Several of the vines holding it in place snapped and were pulled out by the roots. Thorn punched one hand down toward the ground, and more vines emerged. A blast of fire struck the Turtle's side, deflecting off of its shell. Smoke poured from every ridge of the shell, floating away on the breeze.
The Hound raised an eyebrow at Ladybug dubiously, and she shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak, but it morphed into a quick gasp. Grabbing Ladybug by the shoulder, the Hound pushed her behind him, spinning his leash in a shield. The Scorpion's tail clacked off of the leash-shield and bounced aside, Taureau Dechaine still clinging desperately to the end of its tail. Balanced precariously on its back, Multiplice stumbled, nearly losing her grip on the Scorpion's pincer. Snarling, a large scaled creature lunged at the Scorpion, grabbing the other pincer and pulling it away from Ladybug and the Hound. A piercing wail reverberated through the area, echoing off of the walls marking the edges of the nest and vibrating Ladybug's insides. The Scorpion hissed, shying away from the source of the sonic wave, a blonde woman in a light blue jean jacket. With a yelp, Multiplice sprang off of the Scorpion's back, shaking her head in a daze.
Ladybug examined the situation carefully and nodded to herself. The United Heroez seemed to have a handle on the Scorpion – at least for now. Thorn's vines had pinned the Turtle in place… but only just. Bunyip was being slowly dragged across the ground. Shifting her grip on Cat Noir, Ladybug looped her yo-yo around the Turtle's neck and dug in her heels, gritting her teeth and leaning back as far as she could, trying to keep the Turtle in one place. Half its shell had disintegrated away. It thrashed about, snapping furiously at Iron Maiden as she flew in front of its face and fired her energy cannons down its throat.
Sudden movement caught Ladybug's attention from her side, and she nearly lost her grip on her yo-yo as Taureau Dechaine lost his grip on the Scorpion's tail and was sent hurtling through the air, straight toward the Turtle. Multiplice let out a strangled gasp. At the last minute, Taureau Dechaine pulled his knees up to his chin into a cannonball pose, flying straight toward the Turtle's open maw. A series of electrical pulses dotted the Turtle's head, and it turned in that direction, snapping at Hornet as he grew back to normal size and dropped to the ground. With a defiant roar, Taureau Dechaine crashed into the Turtle's face, and an enormous cloud of smoke puffed up from the Turtle's head and into the atmosphere to drift vaguely toward the east. The yo-yo in Ladybug's hand suddenly fell slack and she stumbled backward, nearly losing Cat Noir as she did so.
"Taureau!" screamed Multiplice, as Taureau Dechaine fell to the ground in front of the Turtle, covered in smoke.
Ladybug sprinted in her direction, yo-yo in hand, poised to catch Multiplice and pull her out of danger. Behind her the Hound let out a cry, but Ladybug only had eyes for her friends.
The Turtle turned in their direction, most of its head missing, its shell almost entirely disintegrated, huge chunks of its body now falling away and being consumed. Multiplice crouched over Taureau Dechaine, yo-yo in one hand and cattle prod in the other, glaring up at the Turtle. Ladybug tensed, halfway to Multiplice and Taureau Dechaine, waiting for it to attack. A gust of wind whipped past her head, blowing her hair in all directions, and Amun-Vatar hovered above her, eyes radiant with golden light. Swirling his hands together, Amun-Vatar sent a massive wind vortex rushing past the Turtle, blowing away the smoke still covering Taureau Dechaine and wicking away particles from the Turtle's back. Multiplice threw herself on top of the faintly-breathing Taureau Dechaine, pulling him away from the Turtle's paws. The Turtle stumbled forward, into the wind, and Amun-Vatar rose higher into the air, out of its reach.
Yelling, the Hound sprang in front of Ladybug, his leash spinning defensively. "Stay behind me!" he ordered, not taking his eyes off of the Turtle, even as its remains continued to diminish under a continual torrent of wind.
Around the nest, she could see the remains of the Lion, Ox, and Bear, still striving forward against the heroes, even as they continued to vanish into thin air, their mass melting away as heat. Someone who looked far too familiar hurled a horseshoe through the Lion's tail, cutting it off at the base. The tail had vanished before it hit the ground. The metal form of Turing raced after the horseshoe, snatched it out of midair, and threw it back to the originator, deflecting it off of the Bear's side as he did so. A burnt-orange figure jabbed something into the Ox's side, and it lowed in anger, turning this way and that but seemingly unable to find its target. A mace slammed into the Ox's head, and a puff of smoke arose from it, trailing away toward the west. Majestia and Uncanny Valley pumped their energy beams into the Bear as Mecha-Man unleashed all his remaining missiles into its flank, and the Bear was engulfed in a cloud of smoke.
Hissing, the Scorpion scuttled toward Ladybug, chased by the United Heroez, its pincers snapping furiously. Ladybug tensed, her legs coiled to either charge or retreat. Before the Scorpion had reached her, however, the ground shook to either side of her as Buq Hayij and Roqonsa Saada sprinted past Ladybug, hurtling straight at the Scorpion. A sonic blast caught the side of the Scorpion's head, and half its face vanished in a cloud of black smoke that trailed off to the south. With a screech, the Scorpion lashed out with one of its pincers, and Roqonsa Saada's suit shimmered dark blue just before impact. Holding her arms out to either side, Roqonsa Saada caught the pincer, pushing back against the joint, and skidded backward, growling. Pawing the ground with one hand, Buq Hayij drove her horned helmet into the joint as Roqonsa Saada twisted. The Scorpion squealed in anguish, its pincer ripping from its body in a flash of light and smoke. The water filling the area around its legs rose until Ladybug was standing in water up to her knees, and the Scorpion thrashed, backing away as its body drifted away in water which flashed into steam. The water began to swirl into a whirlpool, and Scorpion was lifted from the ground, spinning in a tight circle. A man in a toga stood atop the water, moving his trident in a circular pattern as the Scorpion dissolved and the flood subsided.
Snarls and roars still echoed from the far side of the nest. A lightning bolt illuminated everything in the early afternoon shadows, striking the Lion's head and scorching away part of its smoldering mane. The Bear swung one of its paws at King Monkey, smacking him backward into Capricorn's arms. Hato Gozen slashed at the Bear's snout as a flash of brilliant light appeared in front of its eyes. The Bear shied away, swatting blindly at her while she flew in tight circles above its head.
The Ox let out a low, rumbling bellow and lumbered after a woman in a dark jacket, who held out one hand and hurled a ball of fire at its head. The Ox shook its head and lowered its smoking horns, and Albailier swooped down and snatched one of the woman's outstretched hands, pulling her away as the Ox slammed headfirst into a wall. Its horns stuck, it pulled back, struggling to free itself. Still held by Albailier, the woman kicked out with her feet, and a blade of air slashed at the Ox's side. Rugindo Leoa leapt onto the Ox's back, her short sword upraised, and drove the blade into its neck, eliciting a low shriek. Leaping from its back, she held her hand out to one side, and the wall shuddered before collapsing over the Ox's side. The Heretic and Drake dove out of the way just in time, and the Ox vanished in a mushroom cloud of black smoke that blotted out the sun for a moment before drifting west and slightly north.
Both Iron Maiden and Mecha-Man rocketed straight toward the Bear, Iron Maiden with Bandruí hanging onto one of her arms. The Bear bellowed, still swinging wildly at Hato Gozen and Olivet. Bandruí waved her free arm, and a lone stalk emerged from the ground near the Bear. Releasing Iron Maiden, Bandruí dropped into the top of the fast-growing tree, which immediately began spreading its leaves and putting out more and more branches toward the Bear. A root burst out of the ground below one of the Bear's paws and coiled around its leg before diving back into the earth, pinning the Bear in place. It snarled, snapping at Hato Gozen as she dipped lower before darting away, just out of its reach. Suddenly, the Bear fell backward, King Monkey standing on its smoldering chest. Spinning his staff over his head, King Monkey rapped the Bear twice before leaping away as Geber drove one end of his spur into its throat. The Bear swatted at him, rolling around to regain its feet, and a white shield materialized in front of Geber, deflecting the Bear's claws aside. Geber sprang off of the Bear, just as the Knight drew his sword up over his head and swung it back down, unleashing a massive torrent of fire into the Bear's body, entirely engulfing it in the conflagration.
Slowly, silence began to fall on the nest as, with a final defiant roar, the Lion vanished in a colossal lightning blast which sent spots dancing around in Ladybug's vision. She blinked several times, trying to chase the spots away and regain her vision, and finally opened her eyes once more. Where the Lion had been stood a toga-clad man holding a scepter in one hand, side-by-side with Ryoku and Viperion. Bengalia slowly walked over to them, Miss Pinky trailing behind her, and threw her arms around Ryoku's neck, joined by Viperion and then Miss Pinky before Hato Gozen landed beside them. Olivet slowly flew overhead, alongside several others with wings – some familiar and some not. Ladybug let out a breath, shaking her head in relief, looking around to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. The Beasts were gone. Not a trace remained of any of them. Suddenly drained, she half-collapsed against a half-standing wall and let her head loll back against the still-immobile Cat Noir's hip, closing her eyes. They had done it
But what could the fight have cost them this time?
Almost afraid to look around and see who was no longer there, Ladybug at last opened her eyes to take in the devastation of Tarascon, along with the masses of heroes and villains, all milling about through the wreckage. Taureau Dechaine limped across the nest toward Ryoku and Viperion, leaning heavily on Multiplice. As she scanned the ground, Ladybug couldn't see anyone…
Finally, steeling herself, Ladybug stood up straight, wiped the perspiration from her forehead, and carefully placed Cat Noir on the ground. "Miraculous… Ladybug," she panted, throwing her yo-yo up in the air. With a brilliant flash, a swirl of red magic appeared around the yo-yo and expanded out in all directions. Slowly, the devastated remains of Tarascon began to rise out of the rubble and form back together into bricks and cement and planks. Buildings began to emerge out of the destruction, rising up and expanding out into their original configurations. Streets appeared, pavement replacing mud as the water flowed back into the Rhone River. The magical energy settled on all of those present, swirling around them as it healed injuries. On the far side of the nest, the Knight pushed himself up to his feet and stepped away from the Heretic as the red magic covered the bleeding gash on the Heretic's shoulder which disappeared. After a moment, the magic expanded beyond the boundaries of the Tarasque's former nest, spreading through the countryside and off into the distance.
Beside Ladybug, Cat Noir jumped to his feet as the Cure washed over him, stretching his arms in either direction and bouncing up and down with irrepressible energy. "Ohhh, man, that feels good!" he groaned, twisting his neck in either direction. "You have no idea how infuriating it is to have an itch on your nose that you just can't scratch!"
Ladybug smiled wanly in relief and rested her head on his shoulder. Most of the city appeared to have been repaired… though the building next to her still lacked its roof. Long gouges had been traced down the façade of another building. As Carapace and Rena Rouge slowly stumbled in their direction, Carapace almost lost his balance on stepping into a gaping pothole in the middle of the street. Looking closer, she could see more and more evidence of damage that had been left unrepaired. She sighed.
It wasn't perfect. But it was better.
Finally, Ladybug collapsed in exhaustion, plopping down on the newly-repaired curb next to Cat Noir. His hand found the small of her back and he traced his fingers up her spine and into her hair, running his fingers through one of her pigtails. She hummed in relief as Carapace and Rena Rouge joined them sitting on the curb, and her eyes started to close.
They had won.