Chapter Seven: Out of His Chrysalis

"In theory, anyone can just pick up and use a Miraculous, but in reality, it's a lot more complicated than that. It takes a certain kind of person to truly attune with a particular Kwami and their power. Take Marinette, for example: her creativity allowed her to use Tikki's power of creation to the fullest. On the other hand, Adrien's pent-up resentment let him do the same with the power of destruction. What we need to do is teach you the right way to harness the power of transmission."

The portal opened up into the wide landscape. The pair emerged at the foot of a snow-covered mountain range, a field of green stretching off into the distance. "And if the purpose was to help me Akumatize more efficiently, what exactly was the purpose of taking us to the middle of nowhere?"

Bunnyx smirked. "It may be nowhere for us–at least, it is here and now–but for people like him, there's no more happenin' place! Check it out!"

She pointed off into the distance, out in the wide grassland, and Gabriel could just make out a figure running across the expanse. A man, it looked like, dressed in animal skins and carrying a wooden spear. It was hard to tell from this distance, but he seemed distressed. The reason soon became apparent: a pair of saber-toothed tigers soon came into view, chasing after the early man with clear intentions.

"You brought me here to witness a mauling?" asked Gabriel, still unimpressed.

"I brought you here to prevent a mauling," Bunnyx replied. The tigers had caught up with the man, beginning to circle their quarry. He held his spear tightly, turning to face each predator before they pounced. "I figured since this is your first time, we should start with something easy. And what emotion is stronger than someone fighting for his life? Even you can work with that, right?"

It was true that even without being Hawkmoth, Gabriel could feel the man's fight for survival from here. "Fear and desperation do indeed make a perfect cocktail for my Akumas," he said. "Nooroo, dark wings–!"

"Up-bup-bup!" interrupted Bunnyx. "This lesson is about learning how to use your Miraculous the right way. None of that 'dark wings' stuff. Instead of bending Nooroo to your will, let his power flow through you freely. You read the book, didn't you? Then you should know the actual incantation. So let's hear it!"

Gabriel growled. "Fine. Nooroo, wings rise!" As his Kwami was absorbed into the brooch, he was once again transformed into Hawkmoth. But this time, he felt somehow different. There was that same rush of power, but it felt less…for lack of a better word, sinister. His costume was brighter as well, the dark purple replaced by silver and lavender. "This…is this what you referred to? A Kwami's true purpose?"

"So far, so good, but you aren't quite there yet," she said. "Remember how your other self Akumatized you a few dimensions back? Just do that. Send out an Akuma, but don't fill it with darkness this time. Just let it out as it is."

He did just that. The top of his cane opened up, and a pure white butterfly flew out, making a beeline for the strong emotions generated by the caveman in peril. He was swinging his spear, trying to hold them off, when the Akuma landed on the weapon. Gabriel didn't bother asking for anything this time: his connection to emotions did the work for him. Wordlessly accepting his offer, the hunter began to change.

The result was, like the man himself, simple, no-frills, but able to get the job done. He had grown into a hulking beast of a man, almost twelve feet tall and nearing that in width. With an angry bellow, he knocked away both of the tigers with a swipe of his gigantic arm. Realizing how outmatched they were, the pair fled. The giant pounded his chest in triumph, before allowing the Akuma to exit his spear and float back to Gabriel.

Bunnyx was impressed. "Wow, I honestly thought I was gonna have to step in there. I'll admit, Gabe, that wasn't bad for a first attempt. 'Course, I did give you an easy one, but still."

"Yes, I'm sure you're just blown away by the progress I've made in such a short time," Hawkmoth grumbled. "Is that enough for now? Or do you intend to train me even further in the ways of the Miraculous?"

"I could, but we're a little pressed for time here," Bunnyx responded. "They do say there's no better trainer than experience, so let's get down to it: we've got some Ripplers to find! …Any chance you can sense any from right here?"

Hawkmoth somehow doubted there would be any Ripplers at this exact time and place, but tried to feel for any nonetheless. Surprisingly, he could actually feel something, though it was incredibly faint. "There's…something here. Not here, but…I can't tell exactly where. The feeling is weak, it's definitely there."

Bunnyx was just as surprised as he was. "You mean there's actually one in this timeline? Huh, what are the odds? Can you tell where the feeling's coming from?"

"Not this time," he said, trying to hold onto the sensation that felt ready to slip away at any moment. "It's a pull, but all I can describe it as is…outwards. As though I'm being pulled somewhere I can't reach. Does that make sense?"

"Surprisingly, yeah, actually," Bunnyx replied. "Here, lemme try something. Burrow!" She opened a portal through time, leading back to modern Paris. "Anything?"

Gabriel could feel the pull growing stronger. "Yes, yes, it feels closer now. But I can't yet see a location. Keep going." Bunnyx swiped by the portal, moving ahead in time. "Stop, it's growing weaker. Other way." She rewound time instead. "Yes…almost…there! Go back!"

Eventually, Bunnyx was able to pinpoint the time the Rippler was located. "Okay, it's in 2010 for some reason. Not sure what it's doing there, but I guess that's what we're gonna find out. Ready?"

"Mm." The two stepped through the portal, returning to modern downtown Paris. Gabriel once again felt around for the Rippler's signature, soon landing on its location. "Up there." He pointed to the top of a nearby office building.

The two of them crept through another portal made by Bunnyx, expecting to catch the unaware Rippler and its possible backup by surprise. Instead, what they found was what appeared to be a simple glass canister sitting on the rooftop. "Uh…is that what you were feeling?"

"This is what I can currently feel," said Gabriel, approaching the strange container. It was more than a simple jar, being roughly ovular in shape with oddly high-tech lids at either end. Inside it swirled a globule of the substance the Ripplers appeared to be made of. "Do you suppose this used to be a Rippler?"

"What are you doing? Don't pick it up!" chided Bunnyx, as Gabriel proceeded to do just that. "It's pretty obvious this was left here as a trap!" She stormed over, snatching the jar out of his hands.

"A trap? From what I have seen, the Ripplers are nowhere near intelligent enough to leave traps, especially not ones with bait this sophisticated."

Bunnyx shot him an unamused glance. "For all we know, there's someone or something behind the Ripplers. And I can imagine someone who can operate in multiple dimensions is 'sophisticated' enough to understand how traps work!" She went back to examining the device, with growing concern.

But Gabriel didn't notice. "You have mastery over time, don't you? Why not simply go back to when this container was placed here? We will be able to see who placed it, interrogate them, and hopefully be that much closer to fixing our timeline."

"I don't think we'll need to do that," Bunnyx said, her voice filled with apprehension. "Because I know exactly who put this here."

As if on cue, a trio of figures suddenly emerged from their hiding places. Gabriel was prepared to draw his sword…only to realize that the figures were nothing more than three schoolgirls. In fact, he recognized them. "Alix! It's about time you showed up!" said a second Alix. "I mean, we were only waiting here for a few minutes, but still! How have things been?"

The main Alix groaned in irritation. "Come on, not you guys! What, were all of the important squads busy?"

"Actually yes," said another, who was Sabrina. "All the other squads are occupied trying to contain the Ripplers. We were the only ones who…Ahem." She trailed off under a glare from Chloe, the third of the trio.

Now it was Gabriel's turn to shoot Bunnyx a glare. "Is there something you'd care to explain?" he asked.

Bunnyx sighed. "Suppose I should've guessed they'd show up eventually. Gabriel, meet the Hunters, a trio of covert operatives of the Inter-Temporal Alix Alliance." She gestured to the girls in question.

Nothing even fazed Gabriel at this point. "Were you ever planning on mentioning the existence of an alliance of yourselves from other dimensions?"

"Not if I could've helped it," she replied.

"Enough talking, you two!" snapped Alix's counterpart. "For meddling in the affairs of the ITAA, on behalf of Director Alix, I'm putting the both of you under arrest! Hunters, Miraculize!"

The three Hunters each reached for a device on their belts, from which came a glow that soon covered their whole bodies. Each one now wore a costume: Sabrina's was blue and black with a pair of goggles atop her head, wings on her back, and a long tail. Chloe's was yellow and black, complete with mask and spiraling hat. Alix's was green and black, also with a mask, as well as a beret with two antenna poking out. Predictably, each one struck a pose.

"We are…"

"Darner!"

"Killer Bee!"

"And Time-Hopper! Surrender now, or face our wrath!"

The two of them were silent for some time as they took in their display. "...Adorable," Gabriel eventually said. "Do you do that every time you make an arrest?"

"Oh, they do," Bunnyx answered. "At every opportunity."

"Quiet!" hissed Time-Hopper. "Cuff 'em!"

Darner and Killer Bee approached the pair, a pair of high-tech cuffs appearing in each of their hands. "Okay, alright, you got us," said Bunnyx, holding out her hands, much to Gabriel's surprise. "You'd better cuff us quick, before we have time to BURROW!" She rapidly turned around, opening up a portal behind Gabriel. She pushed him through before hopping after him, closing it behind her.

Time-Hopper groaned. "Why didn't we expect her to… Okay, fine!" Her boots began to glow, as she crouched down in preparation to leap. She bolted forward, passing through the air like splashing into water. Killer Bee and Darner followed through the greenish waves.

Gabriel barely had time to react before he was thrown above another cityscape, hitting the ground–or rather, the rooftops–running. It was night, and the whole skyline was lit up. "So, your little friends," he began. "Care to enlighten me?"

"What is there to tell?" said Bunnyx, running alongside him. "There's an alliance of Bunnyxes and other rabbit Miraculous wielders from across the multiverse who banded together to deal with threats to more than one timeline. Does that answer your question?"

"One of them, yes," Gabriel replied. "I suppose we'll save the several dozen others for later, then."

Time-Hopper appeared behind them, leaping from building to building with superhuman grace. Queen Bee was close behind, flying with a pair of wings on her back. Before Gabriel could wonder where the third one was, Darner appeared in front of him in a flash of blue. She meant to trip him up, but he simply pushed her aside as he continued running.

Clearing entire blocks with a single bound, Time-Hopper soon caught up to Bunnyx. Before she could open another burrow, the Hunter crashed into her side, sending the both of them tumbling down to the road. "Can't you cooperate for once!?" Bunnyx used her umbrella to break their fall, kicking Time-Hopper off of her. She looked up to see that Gabriel was still being chased by the other two, opening up a portal to help him.

Killer Bee flew overhead, extending finger guns that fired a series of bees. Gabriel dodged and slashed most of the insectoid projectiles, but the few that struck him began to have an effect. They weren't individually as strong as Queen Bee's venom, but he felt his muscles stiffening as the bees collided with him. Before he could worry about that, a portal opened in front of him, which he unwittingly ran through.

Once he realized he had passed into another timeline, Gabriel looked around to get his bearings. He was still in Paris, this time during the early dawn, but it looked very different. The buildings were taller than they normally were, and yet numerous zeppelins filled the skies. Trying to figure out where exactly he was, it was only after he heard the train whistle that he realized he was running along a rail.

Leaping just before it ran him over, Hawkmoth landed on the roof of the monorail. Despite looking relatively low-tech, it moved impressively fast, traveling across a network of rails that ran all throughout the city. Also moving impressively fast was Darner, moving as a streak of blue from the street, up the side of a building, and onto the train.

She reached for the tail of her costume, drawing it like a sword. "Surrender, and this will be easier for both of us!" she shouted.

"Hawkmoth never surrenders!" He drew his sword as well, the two blades clashing. Though Hawkmoth had the advantage in size and strength, Darner was quicker, and not just because of her enhanced speed. He felt the dragonfly tail repeatedly knocking against him, though it didn't seem to be doing much damage. "Stay out of my way! I have to save Adrien!"

"That's what we're trying to do too!" said Darner. "Come with us, and I'm sure we can find a solution!" She said that, but she didn't let up in her assault.

Over atop a nearby skyscraper, Bunnyx and Time-Hopper did battle too. Though Time-Hopper didn't have a weapon, she was incredibly adept at using her legs in combat. They clashed against Bunnyx's umbrella as the pair fought ferociously. "Why do you always have to interfere? Just once, can you do what it is you're supposed to do!?"

"Hey, I don't remember signing up to be a part of your little task force!" said Bunnyx, darting around and blocking her strikes. "Is just wanting to do my own thing a crime now?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Time-Hopper. She raised one leg over her head, bringing it down hard against Bunnyx's umbrella. "You hold the rabbit Miraculous, which means you have a duty to keep your timeline in order! You just abandoned it!"

With a shout, Bunnyx pushed Time-Hopper onto her back, holding the tip of the umbrella against her chest. "I didn't abandon anyone! And for the record, I'm actually trying to find a solution to this Rippler problem! Unlike you all, who seem more concerned with just slapping a bandage on the universe and calling it a day!"

Time-Hopper glanced over at the train. "And you're really willing to work with a Gabriel to do that? Even after what happened to you?"

This comment was enough to make Bunnyx lower her guard. She only just barely noticed Killer Bee rising beside her, rushing back just as she unleashed a swarm towards her. Bunnyx dove off of the roof, opening a portal on the way down. This took her right onto the top of the train, managing to knock Darner off in the process. "Alright, this is our stop!"

Bunnyx opened another portal, the train's momentum throwing her and Gabriel into yet another world. A vast jungle appeared beneath them, with trees as tall as buildings connected by a network of vines. These same vines were what caught them, as they used their weapons to slide down to solid ground.

There was no time to rest, as the trio of Hunters appeared on a nearby tree. As Time-Hopper pointed, the other two flew/ran towards them. "Are we really going to just continue running?" asked Gabriel. "Clearly they can follow us anywhere. Should we not just stand and fight?"

"Look, there's three of them and only two of us," Bunnyx said. "And no offense, but I don't think one successful Akumatization means your skills have improved any significant amount. Trust me, I've dealt with these guys before: we run."

As their pursuers approached, Gabriel leapt from the treetop, catching his descent with his sword. He leapt off the trunk to another tree, pushing past a bunch of people gathered in its hollow trunk. Time-Hopper leapt after him, springing from wall to wall through the wooden office building. Gabriel was so focused on her that he didn't notice Killer Bee fly up to the window he was preparing to jump through. It was only after he jumped that he felt the multiple stings, his body beginning to stiffen.

Time-Hopper was already on him moments after he fell. Unable to move his arms, he could do nothing more than watch as she pulled the Miraculous from his chest, reverting him back to Gabriel. She slapped a pair of cuffs on him and hopped away, leaving Killer Bee to grab him in midair.

"Unfortunately, this is far from my least dignified loss," he grumbled, as Killer Bee carried him towards a clearing.

"Shush! No talking, prisoner!" she snapped. Her path took them to the largest tree around, which reached to the sky as its roots spread out beneath it. Once they got closer, Gabriel realized it was the Eiffel Tower, only as a tree. Killer Bee then deposited him on the ground, while the others approached.

It seemed Bunnyx had been captured as well. Darner carried over Alix, who had also been cuffed. "Resisting arrest: that's going to cost you with the boss," said Time Hopper.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the rules, can we get on with this?" Alix said. "The sooner you book us, the sooner we can be on our way."

"You already escaped from containment once, you won't be doing it again," said Darner. "I personally updated our security measures!"

"Oh, so it should be even easier this time, then." Darner shot Alix a glare.

Time-Hopper stomped on the ground, creating a shockwave that caused the air in front of her to ripple. Gabriel at first wondered if there was a connection between her powers and the Ripplers, but this ripple had a distinctive greenish glow. "Bring 'em in." Darner and Killer Bee escorted Alix and Gabriel through the ripple.

Gabriel had to admit, he wasn't entirely sure where they were being taken. But anything he could have expected was nowhere close to what he saw: all around them was what looked like a starry sky, with dozens of white paths leading every which way. Each of these paths led to one or more of many circular rooms, some of which were connected to form even larger chambers. The largest of these was in the center, surrounded by all the others like the sun and its solar system. Dozens, if not hundreds of people inhabited this space, each one of them a Bunnyx.

"Lady and gentleman," said Time-Hopper, extending her arm, "welcome to the Warren!"