Chapter Eight: The Warren
Inwardly, Gabriel may have been impressed with the interdimensional installation they had been taken to, but he was not about to show it outwardly. "So, you've been here before?" he asked Alix, ignoring their captors.
"Once or twice," she replied. "They might seem all scary and stuff, but they're all talk. Even if we don't bust outta here, we'll be back on track by evening, just watch!"
Killer Bee shoved the two of them forward. "Get moving!" The Hunters escorted the prisoners down one of the many platforms that twisted around the strange space. Dozens of paths moved in all different directions, unaffected by gravity. It seemed that, being a space between spaces, the Warren was not bound by the laws of the material plane.
"What sort of place is this, exactly?" asked Gabriel. Time-Hopper ignored him. "You've already taken me prisoner. The least you can do is explain to me exactly what the Warren is."
"I've got this," Alix said again. "So, each Bunnyx has his or her own Burrow. The Warren is basically a bunch of Burrows merged together into a single–"
Stop right there!" hissed Time-Hopper. "I'm not going to be upstaged by a runaway like yourself!" She cleared her throat. "Many years ago, Director Bunnyx first discovered the existence of the multiverse. She realized that with hundreds upon thousands of different timelines, there was no way to protect them all. So, by recruiting a few like-minded rabbit Miraculous holders, she was able to–"
Gabriel groaned. "Suddenly, I regret asking." Darner and Killer Bee seemed to have tuned out as well, likely having heard this spiel many times before.
A laugh from Alix. "Glad I'm not the only one fed up with these lame-os. They think because their timeline branched off first, they're so much better than the rest of us! I'm pretty sure that's the only reason the ITAA puts 'em on a pedestal like they do."
"And yet, they were able to capture the two of us," Gabriel noted. Upon saying it out loud, he realized how humiliating it actually was. Hopefully nobody found out about it…not that anyone back home was in any condition to do so.
"Okay, so they got one over on me, sue me," replied Alix. "I had my hands full keeping you outta danger!"
He scoffed. "You'll understand if I'm not exactly impressed…"
"-continuously expanding to this day." Having finished her spiel, Time-Hopper turned around to see if her prisoners were impressed. Realizing they were no longer paying attention, she huffed, continuing to lead the party. "Whatever. We're here!"
The group had reached one of the buildings. Part of the wall split apart, revealing an opening to walk through. A pair of Bunnyxes stood guard, glancing at the prisoners as they passed. Inside were rows upon rows of cells, all of which seemed to be empty. Two of them opened, and Alix and Gabriel were shoved inside.
"You two wait here and think about what you've done," said Time-Hopper. "Luckily for you, Director Bunnyx wants a word. We'll take you to see her in a moment–sit tight until then." The three Hunters then turned to walk away.
"Let me guess, she wants to ask for help with this whole Rippler situation?" asked Alix. "Because let's be honest, I don't see you guys doing a whole lot about it! Me and Gabriel have probably made more progress than the whole ITAA already!"
Her comments caused Time-Hopper to pause. She turned around, though held back from hurling another pot-shot–in fact, she seemed to get an idea. "It's bad enough that you're lying to Gabriel, Alix. You should quit lying to yourself, too." With that, the three of them left.
Alix's irreverent confidence wavered; at the same time, Gabriel turned towards her questioningly. "And what exactly did she mean by that?" he asked. As curious as he was, he noted that he wasn't as surprised as he should have been. Perhaps he didn't trust Alix as much as he thought he did, at least subconsciously. Then again, his time as Hawkmoth meant he knew not to trust anyone fully.
"Who knows?" she replied, sitting down in her cell. "I wouldn't be surprised if she wants to turn us against each other. She's tricky like that."
"You're deflecting," Gabriel said. "It's clear you know more than you're letting on. You knew all about these multiversal Bunnyxes, and refused to tell me. Just what else are you keeping from me?"
She groaned, momentarily slumping onto her back. "Does it even matter? We're both after the same thing, do you really care enough about interdimensional organizations and other mes to know everything I do? Because I'm pretty sure most of it is redundant!"
"Considering we're currently trapped in an interdimensional prison run by copies of yourself, I would say nothing is redundant," Gabriel mused. "While we may have the same goal, it's obvious you don't trust me, and are only working with me as a means to an end. While I can live with that, your secrecy does give off the impression that you have ulterior motives in seeking my help."
"What? Of course not!" she almost shouted. "You're the only one in your entire dimension that survived, so if anyone could fix it, it'd be you! And okay, sure, I'm not exactly happy about working with a Gabriel…but if it's to save the multiverse, I'll grit my teeth and power through. You should do the same."
Something in her comments had given Gabriel pause. "What do you mean by 'my dimension?' Is it not your home dimension too? Or could that be what you are hiding from me?"
Alix was silent after this for a while. Eventually she spoke again, her voice much quieter than usual. "Alright, fine. You wanna know what I haven't been telling you? I'm Bunnyx…but I'm not your Bunnyx. I don't come from the same timeline as you do. Where I'm from, things are…different."
There it was. "How different?"
"Well, Ladybug never defeated you, for one. Oh, you became Monarch…but you stayed Monarch, for the longest time. Years and years passed, and still you couldn't get their Miraculous. They grew older and wiser, but all you grew in your old age was more desperate." She trailed off, seemingly waiting for some input from him.
"...And?" Gabriel asked impatiently.
"And you died," she said bluntly. "You died, and everyone else moved on." Her tone of voice made it clear she was holding back her emotions. "With you gone, I went on to do my own thing, and eventually got tangled up with the ITAA. Happy now?"
Truthfully, Gabriel was far from it, but he reasoned that pressing her further would likely only serve to annoy her. "Not happy, though you could say I'm satisfied. Now, how exactly do you propose we escape from here?"
"With any luck, we won't need to," Alix replied, her tone returning to normal. "If they're planning on taking us to the Director, that means they'll be taking us outta these cages. That's when we'll make our move."
"Any chance you've got room for one more?"
The two of them were surprised to hear another voice in the cell block with them. With how empty most of them were, they had assumed they were alone. It didn't sound like Alix's voice, so Gabriel figured it could only be another prisoner. "Who is that?" he asked.
"What, you don't recognize me?" The voice was coming from the cell just next to his. Peering over, he saw a figure leaning against the wall. He stepped closer to the barrier, revealing a tall, dark young man, his blond hair cut short. Despite the years added to his countenance, and the unmistakable weight of pain behind his impartial eyes, Gabriel recognized him instantly.
"A-Adrien…?" he stammered. This was the third time he had run into a duplicate of his son, and yet it was still surprising. Especially considering how different this one looked from the others. Like Alix, he was a good deal older than his Adrien, not to mention he had a darkness about him, one Gabriel knew all too well–that was the look of someone who had suffered. "What are you doing here?"
The older Adrien leaned back up against the wall. "Same thing you two are," he answered. "These ITAA guys threw me in here for trying to deal with the Rippler threat. That is what you're trying to do, right?"
"Is that Adrien?" asked Alix, trying to peer over to his cell. "When did you get here? And where? And why?"
"Any more questions you want to ask?" he said, annoyed. "No? Good. Long story short, my dimension was invaded by Ripplers. My Bunnyx brought me here where it was safe, but when I tried to fix the problem, I got tossed in jail. If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about these guys, I don't know what does."
"I hear that," said Alix. Once again, her demeanor had taken a turn. Gabriel couldn't be sure, but she seemed a touch more emotional in his presence. Was there something else she wasn't telling him? "So, they got your timeline too, huh? Same thing happened to this guy. What was it like? All those Ripplers coming in at once?"
Adrien paused. "I'd…rather not talk about it." He rapidly pivoted, his demeanor shifting as well. "Look, you're familiar with this place, and you have a plan to escape. Take me with you–I can help! I know how these Ripplers operate. Trust me, you need someone with this kind of experience if you want to survive."
"That's…kind of you, but we've already dealt with plenty of Ripplers on our own," Alix said. "Besides, I-I don't think it's the best idea to team up with someone we don't know…even if we do technically know you. Sorry."
Once again, Adrien paused, before going back to leaning against the wall. "Hey, I get it. You don't know if you can trust me. I'm just some guy you met in jail, after all. I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but I will say that we're after the same thing. Just think about that when you make your escape."
Gabriel couldn't help but be conflicted. Part of him agreed with Alix that adding another member to their team out of the blue wasn't the best idea. But on the other hand, if he did indeed have some expertise, they could do with the help–not to mention, he was his son. Gabriel had not had the opportunity to interact with his son after learning he was Cat Noir. This lack of closure began to gnaw at him, but these thoughts were cut short at the reappearance of the Hunter trio.
"Alright you two, you've got a meeting with the Director," announced Time-Hopper. She opened the two cells, and the pair were cuffed by Killer Bee and Darner. "You're lucky she's willing to talk things through with you, otherwise you would've been sitting in here for a while."
They escorted the two out of the prison, and over to the largest facility within the Warren. "That Adrien…how exactly did he end up here?" asked Gabriel.
Time-Hopper refused to answer. He didn't think she would. "You just worry about yourselves right now." The group continued to the central building, passing through the opening.
The inside of the main hall was just as impressive as the rest of the Warren. Many more Bunnyxes of all shapes and sizes roamed the halls, similarly unburdened by gravity. Many of the Miraculous holders stopped to stare at the prisoners, though stern glances from the Hunters put a stop to their gawking. They ascended a large staircase in the center, carrying them up to a control room.
Within, several more Bunnyxes were seated at numerous consoles, each one with numerous viewscreens that peered across the multiverse. And in the center stood a figure that, despite her similar outfit, stood out among all the others. "The prisoners are here, Director," announced Time-Hopper.
Director Bunnyx turned to face them. Aside from her aforementioned unique presence, she appeared to be a middle-aged Alix. "Thank you, you three. You may leave them here."
"A-are you sure?" asked a hesitant Darner. "What if they try to escape?"
The Director grinned. "Don't you worry, I like to think I can more than handle a few unpowered convicts! Off you go, now."
The Hunters made their leave. Now, Gabriel, Alix, and the older Alix were alone with each other–not counting the numerous other Bunnyxes at the consoles, but they were too occupied to pay them any attention.
"Hello again, Alix," the Director said pleasantly. "I see you're up to your old tricks again."
Alix huffed. "If by 'tricks,' you mean I'm trying to stop this crisis, then yeah, I'm up to my old tricks. How about you? Still fumbling around, waiting for a solution to fall into your lap?"
Her comment didn't get much of a reaction from her counterpart. "I understand you have your reservations about the way we're handling things, but the truth is, all we're concerned about is everyone's safety. And that includes yours. If you keep rushing into these battles without thinking, the Ripplers are going to overwhelm you one of these days. And teaming up with a Gabriel? What brought you to do such a thing?"
Gabriel cleared his throat. He was ignored.
"At least I'm trying to do something," Alix argued. "How many dimensions need to be wiped out until we take the fight to them? How many innocent people need to die!?"
Director Bunnyx held up her hand, which, surprisingly, silenced Alix. "I believe what we need right now is to have a civil discussion. Please, why don't we continue this in my office?" She strolled over to the left side of the room, where an opening appeared. "After you."
Like a child being ordered around by her mother, Alix trudged through the door. "Fine," she muttered. Weighing his options, Gabriel followed after her.
Inside was, as the Director had said, her office. In addition to a desk and a bookshelf, the walls were lined with photos of what Gabriel could only assume were her life, recognizable both as a teenager and a young woman, as well as throughout her adulthood. A window behind her desk overlooked a good deal of the Warren.
"Now then," Director Bunnyx said, sitting down in her chair, "why don't you start from the beginning?"
AN: Kind of a shorter one this time around. Also, I'm not even gonna pretend the ITAA wasn't inspired by the TVA or the Spider-Society.