They attacked together and Marinette and Adrien leaped into action. They had had barely any training together, they were outnumbered, there was little hope of their victory, but now they moved as one, as if they had always been doing this.
Above them, clouds began to form, lightning cracking across the ceiling and the room growing darker as the storm grew and obscured the observation window. The lit up tree and walkway leant enough light to see by but Marinette was struggling to adjust completely. Adrien dodged, narrowly missing being hit by a dropping anvil.
"Why do I feel like I'm in a Loony Tunes bit?" He asked as the artist sketched on his pad, manifesting a hole where Adrien had stood less than a second ago. "This all seems a bit sketchy."
Marinette spun her yo-yo, creating a shield as a man dressed as Robocop shot at her. "Seriously, Chat. Was that a pun? Now?"
He jumped up and flipped in the air, landing on the head of an orange and blue man with a giant bubble wand. He grabbed it out of his hands and snapped it in half before he had a chance to do anything with it.
"M'lady, do you think your yo-yo might be able to do something about this?" he said, indicating the black and purple butterfly that was already making it's way back to where the Bubbler lay on the ground.
She pressed a button and spun it round, white light illuminating her face.
"It's worth a shot," she said, throwing it and capturing the tainted insect. Another button and it was released, purified to a glowing white again.
At Adrien's feet, Nino lay unconscious.
"Nino!" he shouted, hooking his arms under his shoulders and hauling him up.
"Chat! Watch out!"
The warning came too late. Adrien was hit by a bright pink light and then he wasn't there any more. Instead there stood a figure in a dress and ruffles, pink all over and an exact copy of one of the other akuma villains. He dropped Nino, looking down at himself. Gone were the cat ears, the tail and his staff. His mirror image came at him now, and they fought hand to hand, exchanging punches.
"Do something, Ladybug!" he called out but they moved around each other and she couldn't tell one from the other. Distracted, she didn't notice the purple and black villain with three curved lines on her chest until she was stood directly in front of her, phone in hand.
They way she held it reminded Marinette of Alya.
"It's all over for you now," she said, pressing a button on her phone and aiming it at Marinette. But nothing happened. The villain frowned. "Why isn't it working," she cried, jabbing at her phone more insistently. Marinette tipped it towards her, looking at the screen and grinning.
"Looks like there's no wifi here," she said and quickly snatched the phone out of her hand, dropping it to the floor and crushing it beneath her feet.
"Nooo!" Lady Wifi yelled, falling to her knees. The infected butterfly flew out of the broken phone and Marinette quickly caught it, purifying it and sending it on it's way. Alya slumped to the floor and Marinette took a moment to check she was okay before straightening back up and squaring to her next opponent.
"I'm really sorry, Alya. I'll be back for you."
Marinette fought against villain after villain and just as she released the akuma from Rogercop's whistle, she heard Adrien shout over to her. He was back to his Chat Noir self, cocky grin included, and a black butterfly flew away from him.
"I got it!" she cried, once again cleansing the akuma and releasing it again. "Juleka!" She ran over to her, checking she wasn't harmed. All around them were the unconscious bodies of all the missing elves. Only one remained and they were reminded when a strong gust of wind knocked them off their feet and sent them flying in the air.
"Chat!" she shouted, reaching out a hand to him.
"Ladybug!" he cried back, his own arm stretching across the space between them. Their fingers just brushed and then they were sent spiralling off and slammed into the wall. They crashed to the floor, groaning from the impact.
"Are you all right?" they both said and nearly laughed but it turned to a grunt of pain. Carefully they both got back to their feet.
"I am Stormy Weather," the girl announced, floating in the air above them holding an umbrella like a villainous Mary Poppins. "You've gotten lucky so far but I think you'll find I'm not so eas-"
She was cut off. Marinette had grabbed Adrien, swinging him around and launching him at the astonished weather girl. His feet connected with her stunned face and he back-flipped, grabbing hold of the umbrella and sailing back down to the ground. Deftly he snapped it in half over his knee.
For one last time Marinette cleansed the butterfly.
Clipping her yo-yo to her waist she smiled, relief flooding through her. She held out her fist to Adrien. "Great job, mon Chaton. Pound it."
He smiled as well, holding out his own fist and lightly bumping them together.
They storm had died away and the silence that filled the room was deafening. Unconscious bodies littered the floor around them but they were alive and relatively unharmed.
They quiet was broken by the sound of slow, mocking applause.
They'd lost sight of him during the fight but now here he was surrounded by his butterflies and sneering at them.
"Congratulations. You have managed to defeat my akumas. Unfortunately for you, they are just a taste, merely the entrée to whet your appetite. Neither of you stand a chance against me."
And before their eyes he grew, the claws on his hands becoming razor sharp, his switch of birch twigs extending out into a cat o' nine tails. Lazily his tongue came out and flicked at his lips and he grinned.
They prepared themselves again, yo-yo and staff at the ready. Despite being out of breath from the fighting they'd already done they nodded to each other and turned as one to face him.
Without another word he lunged forward, the sting of his whip catching them and cutting any skin it touched. They had immediately jumped back but couldn't avoid it. Marinette's sleeve was ripped, blood seeping from the narrow wound but he had caught Adrien across the face, splitting open his cheek. They pressed their hands to their cuts, panting, their eyes narrowed at the Krampus. He sneered again then attacked.
Back and forth they parried, Adrien blocking the whip with his staff but once again it curled around and sliced another bit of skin. He hissed and the Krampus laughed. He pushed Adrien away and Adrien stumbled, landing on his backside.
Marinette seethed, spinning her yo-yo and running at the Krampus. He pulled back his whip, and just as he swung it around, the full force of it aimed at Marinette, she was pushed out of the way and Adrien took the brunt of it instead. He spun across the floor and came to a stop when he crashed against the tree. Marinette looked around desperately.
"Chat!" Adrien wasn't moving. She jumped up from the floor and ran to him, checking to see if he was still alive. Her hand fluttered over him, checking for a pulse and any serious injuries. He was out cold, just like the others.
She glowered over her shoulder.
"You're gonna pay for this."