Her first clue that there was a new Akuma had been the large, reverberating explosion that had shaken the apartment so hard, she'd had to catch things before they fell from her desk. Her second had been the ear-splitting roar that tore through the air and had her racing up to the patio, fingers gripping the railing so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

What on Earth-?

Marinette gaped as she watched a truly bizarre sight pass by her… Or rather, fly past her. It looked to be a knight sitting atop a large dragon-like creature, one hand holding the beast's spiked neck, the other hefting a massive buster sword over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

The moth emblazoned on the knight's breastplate left little to her imagination, however, and Marinette ducked out of sight.

"Marinette, what is that thing?" Tikki gaped, popping up to stare over Marinette's shoulder, "Are we still in the right time?"

"Yes, Tikki, I think so… Unless you're telling me dragons existed before," Marinette replied, chancing a look back around her cover to keep an eye on the Akuma. It seemed that it was intent on circling the Eiffel Tower, as so many often were, which gave Marinette some time.

"Well, no," Tikki frowned, the small black dot on her forehead scrunching. "Do you want to wait for Chat?"

"I'm pretty sure he'd have to be deaf to not have heard that roar," Marinette shook her head, already trying to figure out just what could be hiding the little butterfly. "A dragon-rider, though? Really?"

"It's not a dragon, Marinette!" Tikki replied, shaking her little head fiercely. "It's an Amok!"

"Well, yeah, I knew that, and if we're really being specific…"

"Focus, Marinette!"

Right… Tikki, spots on!"

She'd been right to rely on him. By the time she swung into a safe position near the Eiffel Tower, it had taken barely two breaths before Chat Noir vaulted down beside her, landing in a rather extravagant flourish that had her grinning and rolling her eyes despite the severity of the situation.

"Good afternoon, M'Lady, your dashing dark knight has arrived," he purred, clearly unable to help himself. Ladybug swatted at him without looking whether she made contact and peered out at their target instead, squinting slightly. They were only just too far away, and she couldn't make out enough detail, even with the acuity her suit afforded her.

"This looks like it might be difficult, Chaton, have you seen what we're up against yet?" She asked, gesturing toward the Tower and the Akuma. Chat Noir shook his head.

"No, I came to find you first," The tone of his voice had her looking back at him, and the look he was giving her confirmed what she'd heard. I came to make sure you were safe first, is what he'd actually meant, and Ladybug felt a wave of heat rising to her cheeks that had absolutely nothing to do with the task at hand.

Focus, Marinette!

Chat Noir peered around their cover, his vivid green eyes widening at the sight they beheld before he quickly ducked back down to stare at her. From beyond them, another shriek pierced the air. Before they knew what was happening, the Akuma and Amok duo slammed down in front of them, towering over them with all the grand glory of a bossfight entrance.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir! I look forward to defeating you in battle and looting your Miraculous from your flaming corpses!"

"Is that... A dragon?" Chat asked incredulously, squinting up at the creature before Ladybug grabbed his hand and dragged them both out of its line of fire. Purple fire, to be exact. Could Hawkmoth be anymore on-brand?

"Honestly, Chat. It's a wyvern. it's not got enough legs to be a dragon," Ladybug replied distractedly then noticed the look Chat was giving her, "... What?"

"My Lady," he purred, and Ladybug responded by all but throwing him out of the way of another blast.

"Later, Chat!"

"Purromise?" Chat teased, using his baton to launch himself away from her, diverting their attacker's focus. If he could keep the Akuma off of her long enough for her to use her Lucky Charm, then hopefully, they could be done with this strange fever-dream sooner rather than later.

Ladybug watched Chat for a few seconds longer as he darted, vaulted, and dodged blast after blast. Is he always that flexible or is just the suit? … FOCUS! She looked back at the wyvern, that was clearly the amok, but where was the Akuma?

Another bright flash, and Chat's mocking laughter rang out, "what's wrong, aim a little off today?" The akumatized person roared with fury at the frankly uncreative comment and the wyvern bounded towards Chat. Each step heavy and crunching concrete underneath it - damn it, not the Arc de Triomphe again - and then Ladybug saw it. The person was using what looked like a keyboard to move the wyvern and initiate each attack.

"Chat Noir," She called, not waiting to ensure she had his attention; she could see an ear had flicked in her direction, even as he hopped around out of the amok's blast "The Amok's in the keyboard!"

"Keyboard?" Chat Noir glanced at the Amok again, his face splitting into an all-too-familiar Cheshire grin. "Oh, I get it. Hawkmoth got to you over a game, did he?" The enraged howl that came from not the Amok, but the Akuma, was all they needed to know. Apparently, though, that had been the wrong thing to say. With a grunt, the Akuma vaulted from the back of his Amok steed, landing in a stylized pose before Ladybug with his blade outstretched.

"Your Miraculous will be mine!" He seethed, surging forward with a speed that had her backpedalling and whirling her yo-yo to deflect his attacks, "and then I'll skin that mangy cat!

"Ladybug!" Ladybug saw Chat Noir move toward her, but she deflected another blow and jumped away from the blade, giving herself enough time to gesture sharply at her partner.

"Deal with the Amok! We can't have them both running around!" She ordered, stopping Chat dead in his tracks. It was clear he struggled, battling with his urge to protect her over his need to protect Paris. "Go Chat I'll be fine!" She leapt back again, sending her yo-yo up to pull herself up and away just fast enough to avoid another deadly slice from the blade…

But she hadn't expected the Akuma to be there when she landed.

"Merde!" As unlikely as it was for Ladybug to ever swear, she had certainly been caught off guard and had to dive out of the way before she could find out whether that sword was more than a cosplay prop.

"Ha!" The Akuma scoffed, swinging the blade back around in a wide arc and bringing it back to his shoulder, "You cannot defeat me, Ladybug!"

"We'll see about that!"

She bounded out of the way again and used the momentum to launch herself up higher and away. The move bought her the few seconds she needed to conjure her Lucky Charm, which as usual, turned out to be a mundane and seemingly useless object. A can of soda landed in her palm and she glared at it. One of these days it was going to be so ridiculous that Ladybug was going to quit right there on the spot.

A purple blast was coming her way again and leapt down to avoid it, her mind reeling with possibilities. What did a can of soda have to do with a keyboard? She felt the weight of it in her hand and realized it was full. Right! What destroyed a keyboard faster than spilt soda!

"Ladybug!" Chat landed next to her, chest heaving, and looked at the Lucky Charm in her hand. "Feeling a bit parched, M'lady?"

"This will help with the Amok, but I still haven't got a clue where the Akuma is!" Ladybug hissed. She hated that she was on borrowed time now; they needed to get this done fast. "Swap you?"

"And leave the princess to fight the dragon?" Chat clearly wasn't as worried as he looked, if he could still make jokes, a clawed hand held over his heart. "M'lady you wound my knightly honour."

"Wyvern, Chaton," Ladybug corrected, already turning her attention to the Amok. "Please stay away from that sword, that thing isn't a prop."

"As my lady wishes," Chat leapt up and away, catching the Akuma's attention with a hollered taunt that led him away from Ladybug's hiding spot. Unfortunately, that meant she was left all alone with an enormous, fire-breathing reptile.

That was alright, she'd dealt with Chloé before. This thing was a walk in the park in comparison.

Rude, Marinette.

Giggling to herself even still, Ladybug swung up onto the miraculously still-standing Eiffel Tower, yo-yoing her way up as high as she possibly could before the Amok noticed her ascent. If she could just get up high enough to land on it…

Just as she'd predicted, the liquid in her red-and-black soda can worked wonders on the keyboard that controlled the wyvern Amok. It shrieked and writhed, flinging her from its back and into the hard metal of the Tower, but the damage had been done. With an electrical pop and a fizz of smoke, the keyboard shattered and a dusky purple feather floated up from the beast, which immediately disintegrated down into nothingness.

"No! My mount!" The Akuma shrieked in rage, making a move toward Ladybug, but Chat repelled him with his staff, blocking the downward strike that would have otherwise sliced him in two.

"Guess you'll have to take the metro from now on," Chat taunted, leaping out of the way of another rage-fuelled strike. It was almost enough to distract Ladybug. Almost.

Focus, Marinette, you're almost out of time!

Winding up, she unleashed her yo-yo toward the feather, capturing it and drawing it back toward her as she felt her Miraculous purify the thing within.

"No more evil-doing for you little feather," she bid, sending the little white wisp off into the sky "Bye-bye!"

Not a moment too soon, she thought, hearing the familiar trill of her earrings counting down the seconds before her detransformation. Ladybug clung to the beams of the Tower, far too high up to signal Chat. Surely he knew she'd need to rest, he'd seen her Lucky Charm. Hold on, Chat, she pleaded with him, ducking out of sight of cameras behind a particularly shaded overhang to detransform.

Tikki groaned in exhaustion as she landed in her hand, and Marinette braced herself against the suddenly much-less-sturdy-feeling metal to dig around for a macaroon.

"Hurry, Tikki, Chat needs us back as soon as possible."

"I'm trying, Marinette, I can only eat so fast!"

Marinette clung to the steel beams around her, feeling the wind whip around her clothes in an attempt to pitch her over the edge. Without the surety that her suit gave her, she just had to hope Tikki could hurry just a little faster.