He had been careless, that's for sure. Not only did he get involved in a fight that wasn't his without any consideration of his promises to Chat and Xuppu, but now he was trapped in a pretty bad situation. His mother always told him how Monarch hadn't even half of Pandora's cruelty and how her akuma's weren't to be underestimated. She was the reason the heroes were much more on guard, because some of them, including Louis, almost got killed by her several times. For the kid who had never actually been on the stage and saw how Emma was enthusiastic about fighting, Marinette was telling him these extreme stories purposely, to make him withdraw the idea of joining them on the battlefield.

But now, trapped by a giant hand pressing his neck and facing the cruel distorted face of a possessed Aysha made him realize it might not be that far from reality. Then, if some other facts about Pandora's akuma were true, the poor girl was also in danger, because the akumatized people were mainly… hostages. A skull head similar to one of a deathmoth tattoo would gradually appear on their forehead and when it was fully present, in 24 - 36 hours generally, the victim would die from high blood pressure in the brain. A tragic fate even akumas would fear; if they didn't lose their sanity before or didn't become aimless zombies easier to control, although less emotion they had, less powerful they were. So they were mostly mad or desperate. A supplementary motivation for the akumatized to try and eliminate Ladybug and her team as fast as possible…because yes, the objective wasn't only reclaiming miraculous anymore you've guessed. Pandora really did hate his mother with a passion for some reasons.

The cavernous akuma's voice zapped him back to his tenuous position in reality.

"I AM SecrET tELler ! You'Ve aLL ABanDOnEd Me whEN I trIEd tO BE yOUr FriEnd anD yoU WOn't teLL yoUr seCreTs to mE aNymOre! BuT wiTH PAnDoRA'S poWEr; I wiLL geT thEM oUt oF yOu aNd exPOsE tHEm tO tHe WorLD ! "

"Wait..Aysha..no.."

" ThEN paNdOrA wiLL bEcOmE a beTTeR fRIenD thAN yOu!"

Hugo couldn't even try to reason with her, because despite his magic costume's resistance, breathing became more difficult. Helpless, he watched as the hand started to glow at his contact, and how a tiny succession of light were reaching the indian girl's own head. He also felt an unpleasant feeling of having his brain rummaged by an unknown presence and even all his effort to blank his mind didn't avoid the akuma to make the discovery he didn't want her to find. Puzzled for a fraction of seconds, she excitedly moved forward to reach his level and almost spat at his face with a sardonic grin.

"HUGO AGRESTE ! wHo woULd hAVe tHoUgHT yoU haD So maNY seCREts! yOU knooooOW thEm! HaHAha! YoU kNoW thEM veRY wELl! i'M sO lUCkYyyy!

PaNDOrA! wheRE aRe yOU? CaN yOU hEAr Me? I knOW laDyBUg aND cHAt nOIr's idENtiTieS! hAHAHAhAhaHa!"

"Pl..Plea…se…don't.."

It had to be a nightmare. Everything he had tried to avoid was unfolding before himself and he couldn't do shit about it. The fact it was his fault only added to his misery, which became the least of his concern when the grip around his throat started to drastically tighten, and he got the terrible feeling it meant the akuma didn't need him anymore… Fighting for oxygen, his transformation dropped, his vision blurred and he lost track of what was happening, of what she was screaming. He couldn't even try to grab his magical charm to protect himself. The certainty that he would die had taken over his whole being, and he was at the verge of losing consciousness, until being suddenly dropped from the sky.

He almost didn't notice how the black leathered superhero caught him midair to save him from a hard fall. Coughing heavily and touching his soar and painful neck, the tired and trembling boy could now only spectate with a worried Chat and Xuppu at his side.

The situation had significantly taken a dire turn with the arrival of this unconventional akuma. Even if they knew nothing about their enemy, both heroes knew this one was different in his behavior. Most of the akumas they had faced were venting their (sometimes) justified anger or sadness from their civilian's part, but the girl before them seemed completely mad, giving off unhide murderous intents.

"Chat, this one is bad, really bad…We need to be extra careful."

"Yes, but she has Hugo as a hostage…and all the sleeping civilians from the previous akuma dispersed around…"

Ladybug bit her bottom lips nervously. She wanted to study the akuma a little more, but they didn't have the luxury of time here. She didn't have the time to send her Lucky charm away earlier, so all the former instruments were still scattered on the floor, sleeping. The good points were 1) the akuma didn't seem to have massive destruction powers either and 2) to care about no one but the hanging Monkey boy at this moment. She first tried to free him by sending her Yoyo around the giant arm, only to pass through it. Chat did the same with his stick, without success.

"My Lady, it's as if we're trying to cut a cloud.."

Attacking the magical arm had proven to be ineffective, so they changed strategy and decided to catch the main body, but the akuma had seen them coming. It had placed itself out of reach and had spread more gooey arms to chase after them. To Ladybug's dismay, the akuma girl didn't need to concentrate for them to deploy, her only consolation being the arms weren't very precise or efficient when the main body wasn't controlling them. However, even if Ladybug wasn't sure of this; the akuma might have seen her use her Lucky Charm earlier and thus was waiting for her to detransform anytime. Because like for the previous akuma, the tentacles distracting them were meant to buy time until the akuma got what she wanted.

And it came sooner than expected.

"HUGO AGRESTE ! wHo woULd hAVe tHoUgHT yoU haD So maNY seCREts! yOU knooooOW thEm! HaHAha! YoU kNoW thEM veRY wELl! i'M sO lUCkYyyy!

PaNDOrA! wheRE aRe yOU? I knOW laDyBUg aND cHAt nOIr idENtiTieS! hAHAHAhAhaHa!"

At these mere sentences, both heroes' hearts missed a bit, and Ladybug felt like she was dropping in a hole.

"Hugo…Agreste? Our identities?"

How? How was this possible? How could this kid she and Chat just met know their secret identities? And was this boy related to Adrien?! Who the hell was Pandora?

"MY LADY! HUGO WILL NOT LAST LONG!" warned Chat Noir in a hurry.

Indeed, his transformation had dropped, and if his magical costume couldn't protect him anymore, then his civilian self wouldn't resist much longer too. And she had a horrid certitude that the akuma wouldn't stop strangling him until he dropped dead. The simple idea gave her shivers down her spine. Granted, some akumas had tried to stomp on Chloe or had done damages that could have harmed citizens, but it was never intended murders, and nobody had ever been harmed seriously. This, this was not like Monarch's way of proceeding and it was frightening, because it meant this akuma was unpredictable.

She heard a "Cataclysm" from her partner, who launched himself at the arm in a desperate act, who failed like their previous attempts. But it decided her : she needed to take a risk. If the akuma already knew who they were like she was claiming, she had nothing to lose by being touched. She launched herself at the akuma main body when it was distracted by its discovery, and finally, succeeded to catch her real right arm with her then pulled the hardest she could for the akuma to cry in pain and finally, free her prey. The bug heroine hadn't thought much about this plan, but still, was relieved when Chat finally caught the kid, after dissolving his cataclysm at the ground. Now, she could face her impending doom slightly more serene, as she felt her feet being trapped. The akuma's discomfort didn't last long when she saw who was in her net.

"GrrrRRrR LaDYbUG! yoU wILl paY foR tHIs! PaNDoRA, WhEErE aRE yOu? I'vE cauGHt LadyBUg toO! I caN teLL yOu whO shE iS! PlEaSe aNsWeR ME!"

Whoever she was trying to call wasn't responding it seemed; but it didn't seem to matter much. The menacing smile was spreading on her face and her eyes had lit up as an idea popped in the deranged mind.

" PandORA! TheIR naMEs aRe.."

"NO!" screamed both Chat and Ladybug in an empty attempt to cover the pending revelation.

What they didn't expect was for the akuma to be shut down physically by a high velocity knee strike in the stomach, followed by a violent fist in the jaw, baffling the akuma on the spot and sending it flying to the ground. Secret Teller cushioned herself just in time to avoid the impact and immediately retaliated by emprisoning the newcomer with a grip.

"WHO aRE yOU!" she spat angrily, before her eyes widened. "YoU! seNTImonstER!"

"Don't touch my cousin or auntie, you DEEP SHIT!" answered kindly the new challenger in the form of a long haired blond and red stranded girl with two side ponytails, wearing a sleeveless uniform top from good craftsmanship contrasting with a casual short jean exposing her long muscular legs and comfy baskets. At first glance, she looked nothing different from a human, but from up close, her shark teeths and red pupil/black sclera were saying otherwise. Along with the fact she had made a 10 meter jump and knocked off an akuma by the only strength of her fist that is.

Dumbfounded, Ladybug took the opportunity to free herself and to close up with Chat in order to regain composure. That's how she heard the boy pronouncing a name; "Billie.." in his breath, probably the stranger's one. Billie seemed quite confident and unfazed by the way the akuma had captured her and they soon understood why when a second voice was heard.

"Do not touch my sister, you wretch."

In an instant, a chunky bluish black bat with a luminous cross on the face appeared in thin air and sent a powerful ultrasound beam just above the akuma, who was heavily crushed on the ground.

"NnnnNNnnO! WhY…SSssentIiMonSTeRsssss!" hissed the akuma before the pressure was too much and her strap broke, breaking her transformation and making the bubbly substance evaporate.

Billie landed gracefully; then walked toward the now inanimate girl, pushing slightly her head with her shoe to see her reaction while catching the butterfly in the palm of her hand effortlessly.

"I've got it Sis!" she stated, beaming and extending her hands with her trophy as the other stranger approached, surrounded by the chunky bat and another slimmer one.

Both heroes gaped at her sight. The other girl was around the same age as them, pale blue skin wearing a indigo hoodie with longer sleeves, dark blue tights and at her waist, a blue fan with a pattern they couldn't forget.

"The peacock miraculous…" breathed out Chat. "I thought it was Felix who had it!"

And as though Felix seemed to have calmed down since meeting Kagami, his objectives remained ambivalent this days. That's why the heroic partners were quite wary when she reduced the distance, sending puzzled looks and trying to assess her intention. The girl dropped the hood, revealing her short bluberry hair with tiny buckled tips, sparkling purple eyes and a completely unfazed malicious smile. Surprising them again, she friendly addressed them :

"Hi uncle! Hi auntie! Yeah well, let's say I've borrowed Dusuu for a while. But shouldn't we de-evilize this butterfly first? Ladybug doesn't have much time left it seems."

She pointed at her own ears, not that it was needed since the earrings had started to bip their second warnings. Slowly, eyes still suspiciously trying to monitor the peacock holder, Ladybug reached for the blond sentimonster opening her hand . As she had expected, the akuma seemed very different. The butterfly wasn't the usual little ones but a deathmoth. It didn't change anything in the process, and deathmoth or not, it came back to his original white color after some purifying magic. But before it could go away, the slimmer bat swallowed it.

"Did he just gobble it? What are you intending to do with it?" frowned Ladybug.

"It wouldn't know where to come back to anyway." simply stated the sentimonster's master, before walking to Chat and inspecting Hugo. The former didn't want to at first, but seeing the boy recognizing her, he let her come at him. The boy was still exhausted but he opened his eyes to greet her.

"...Haruka? Is that you ..And Billie? What… about Aysha?"

His cousin shut his mouth with a finger and then tousled his hair fondly, face momentarily darkening with concern at the sight of the red mark around his neck.

" Shh, you need to rest. You had almost made an irreparable mistake today. If Shiny hadn't followed you, and if your…Ladybug hadn't grabbed her, we wouldn't have come on time. I don't know for your friend, but Ladybug will take care of her."

She then turned hills to direct herself to the one she called her sister, while Ladybug was recovering her Lucky charm to call for the magic ladybugs. Once it was done, Marinette came back at Aysha's side, with worry.

"Has she woken up yet?" she asked a thoughtful Billie, seeing as the girl seemed to have healed a bit.

"Na! Her wounds disappeared, but we will see the damages only when she wakes up. At least she's alive!"

"A-alive?"

"Yeah. Not always the case. Pandora's a jerk, sometimes she 'Kabooms' their brains before we free them. And the girl's already had some screw loose. "

"Who's Pandora? No, wait. In fact, just tell me what has been really going on since the beginning ! You all seem to know us but we don't know who you are, and you're using miraculous that's supposed to be in someone else's hands! This doesn't make any sense!"

Ladybug was already stressed by the whole ordeal, but having so many new factors she didn't have control over was making this even more difficult. She was a bit fed up with random allies or enemies popping from nowhere, she needed answers. But of course, when she thought she could finally find a reliable source, she was denied the right.

"Yes, we know you have a lot of questions, but we can't give you answers right now.

However, I'm pretty sure you will both come to guess it yourself eventually." replied Haruka with a knowing grin, before clapping her hand.

"Alright! Billie, Shiny, Cutie, off we go! "

"Wait, really, just like that?! "

"Sorry, but we've got work to do. You're no match for Pandora's akuma right now and Me, my sweeties and Billie have to be sure no other akuma followed us here. So why don't you rest instead? Hugo's counting on you to take care of his friend too, don't deceive him!"

The two big bats grabbed the extravagant sisters, extended their wings and flew away like flowers, leaving a quite pissed off and astonished Ladybug.

"I can't believe this! And I can't believe you didn't stop them Chat! Chat?"

Oddly enough, Chat had remained silent in deep reflection since the end of the fight, focused on the boy in his arm, protectively holding onto him. After he heard the first beeping of his ring, he seemed to come back to earth a bit but simply added absentmindedly :

"Oh, time's up! I need to have a discussion with that kid! See you later My Lady!"

Before Ladybug could protest, the cat had made his leave too, Hugo still secured in his arm and thus, she was left alone with the sleeping young indian girl. No. Fucking. Way.

"AHHHHH, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! WHAT ARE THEY ALL DOING! AM I MISSING SOMETHING?!"

But before she could vent her frustration off and scare all the awoken citizens in miles around, the beeping sound became more pressing.

Sighting in defeat, she grabbed Aysha carefully and went off before someone could see her detransforming.

In truth, she needed some peaceful time to process what had just happened today.

Night was quietly falling on Paris and it was usually the time Adrien loved to wander on the roofs with his lady. If he had any reason to escape his prison of a house, he would take it without hesitating. But right now, the only idea he had was to bring the boy in his arms home. All the event of before were replaying itself in circles with newly added line to the oddity list : The Shift, Hugo, this weird akuma girl, the peacock holder and her sentimonsters, and…Hugo, once again. He glanced at the little blond, who had remained silent since their departure. His mood was definitively down and he just knew by the face he was making that the child was holding his tears. It was probably not the good moment to interrogate him, but Adrien couldn't wait any longer, his heart wouldn't stop beating at the intrusive thoughts he had. Avoiding Xuppu's suspicious gaze, they stopped on a roof not far from his house.

"Hugo, can you stand up?"

The boy looked up at him, then nodded and dropped on the floor, eyes on the ground. The pre-teen had probably sensed he was going to interview him. Xuppu patted his shoulders to make his presence known. They both were facing each other, Chat trying to find the right wording. Finally, he decided on a progressive yet direct approach.

"That akuma, Secret Teller, she told us that you knew who we were…our citizen's identity, is that true?"

The boy made sniffing noises, before nodding. His hands were trembling.

" Then, can you tell me my name?"

"..Adrien." Hugo breathed roughly. It was a thing to hear it from an akuma's claim, it was another one having this fact confirmed right before his eyes. But it wasn't the most important part, his identity was nothing right now.

"And my last name?"

Hugo bit his bottom lips, but obediently answered.

"...Agreste."

" Just like you, it's your last name too, right? Hugo, we have the same last name and you look quite a lot like me. Xuppu's here whereas he's supposed to have been kidnapped by Monarch a few months ago. And you know my identity. The akuma even said you knew me and Ladybug very well. Plagg said earlier the Shift was caused by a miraculous power, and now I think I know which one he talked about. Clear me if I'm wrong but…"

Chat Noir took a deep breath, cheeks warming.

"Hugo, Xuppu. Are you from…the future? And are…are you..my son?"

The last words had Hugo losing it. The tears he had been fighting back were profusely coming out and he ugly cried his soul over. The poor Chat didn't expect such a reaction (heck he was prepared to be laughed at if it was wrong), and didn't know what to do with his hands until the boy hugged him. He didn't expect either for him to apologize.

"Sob…I'm soo so-sorry…I should..I should have listened…(sob sob)…I've broken the..the Rules of Ladybug…I've..(sob)..I've been stuck here and…(sob)…all I've succeeded to do is…(sob)…Almost putting you in danger (sob)…a-a-and almost getting myself ki-killed (sob)…

I couldn't even (sob)…I couldn't even keep the most im-im-important thing from you..(Sob)…I'm so sorry Papa, I'm the worst hero ever…"

This really broke Adrien's heart, and he felt his own tears coming as he returned the most warmed hug he could manage. Imagine meeting your future child and seeing him self-deprecating himself after almost watching him die. Chat Noir patted the boy's back and waited patiently for the most part of his crying to end, while whispering comforting words.

"Hey shh, it's okay. You did nothing wrong...I mean, I can't even imagine being at your place and remaining calm about it either. And it's not your fault if I discovered the truth, it's the akuma's. You've been doing quite good so far on your own, I didn't see anything coming."

"sob…really? But I..I disobeyed you…"

"Well…who doesn't disobey their father once in a while uh?"

This felt so odd coming from his mouth, and there was that tingling feeling on his cheeks and his heart, he couldn't help but smile. Victory was met when he saw a tiny smile on the boy's face, along with Xuppu's, who had avoided intruding in the reveal.

"Uhm, say…I suppose you don't have anywhere to go so..why don't you come to my place. Oh don't look at me like that, I know Father saw you before but he almost never comes in my room. It would be the least place he would expect you to be, thus the safest, right?"

Xuppu's grimaced just by thinking he would stay in the same building where his past self was currently being held somewhere in the basement, but knew he didn't have any other safer options. He couldn't really tell about Monarch or the already messy situation would just worsen.

"..Ok snif." agreed the pre-teen trying to wipe out the drying rainfall off his face..

When they finally arrived, Hugo was so exhausted he was already asleep. Adrien installed him in a side of his king bed before his transformation dropped, freeing by the same time a pretty annoyed cat.

"Ahh…Xuppu, how did you let the cat out of the bag like that."

" Pff! Like it's my fault!"

"So you knew?" frowned Adrien, eyes still on the boy.

"I had a hunch the magic involved in the Shift was Fluff's. Us Kwamis can sense those things. And it wasn't rocket science once I saw the kid. He really took a lot from you. Uhm, Adrien?"

Still sitting on his bed, the blond had covered his mouth with his hands to prevent himself from making too much noise. Then, he lifted his head, green eyes sparkling billions of stars.

"Plagg…I'm a dad!"

"Oh no, we've lost him for hours." warned Plagg to his fellow Kwami, directing himself to the cheese fridge in such a way nobody could see his forming grin. The way his holder was now daydreaming, the intonation of his voice, the plastered grin hidden behind his fingers…

It had been a while since he had seen Adrien so delighted.

Xuppu had looked fondly at the scene too, but he now had to think strategically. The timeline was messed up already, and with Pandora's akuma here, it would be even more dangerous to let the heroes of this era in the dark for too long.

He waited enough for Adrien to savor his happy moment, before speaking.

"Plagg, Adrien. We need to talk about Pandora."