Chapter Twenty-Three: Lost at Sea
The statue, and what was engraved on its placard, opened up a pit in Alix's stomach that she had tried to keep filled for a long time. Had this pair been immortalized in her home dimension? She could never bring herself to check, something she was more than a little upset with herself for. Had what happened there, happened here? Was there another Death's Head running around though the multiverse, with no heroes to stop him? No, she told herself, Death's Head couldn't exist without outside help. But that didn't change the fact that something terrible had happened in this timeline, something that had killed two of her friends…
It was only now that Alix caught herself, realizing that she was gripping the edge of the placard rather tightly. She couldn't allow herself to fall apart now–she was stranded in another dimension, likely a hostile one given what had happened to Ladybug and Cat Noir. Right now, getting to the others should be her top priority, and that meant finding the Miraculous. And that meant finding who the current Guardian was, even if it was somebody like–
"Alix?" She recognized the hushed voice behind her, though it was one she hadn't heard in years. Slowly turning around, she saw Alya standing there underneath an umbrella. "What are you doing here? I thought you went to the future to protect your Miraculous from Hawk…moth?" She got closer, and was surprised to see that this Alix was noticeably older than the one she was used to.
"Alya…" Though younger than the one she was used to, this Alya was much closer in age to the one she had lost. "Hey. So, this is gonna sound a bit weird, but I'm not…from around here."
The other girl didn't seem to get the meaning. "I'll say!" She took Alix by the arm, pulling her underneath a nearby awning to shelter from the rain. However, there was another reason they had hidden, as indicated by her looking around on the rooftops. "So, why are you here? Did something happen in the future? Did you find a way to defeat Hawkmoth?"
Seeing that the girl was clearly agitated by her presence, Alix put her hands on her shoulders. "Hey, easy, nobody came from the future! I'm…not from around here. In fact, I'm not from your timeline at all. I came here completely by accident, and I have no way to leave." She showed Alya the two halves that remained of her watch.
It was, understandably, a lot for her to take in. The sight of the broken Miraculous seemed to snap Alya back to reality. "Oh…" Her grip tightened on the umbrella's handle when she saw it. "Well, at least Hawkmoth can't get it now, right?"
Alix blinked. "...So, does this mean you believe me about being from another world?"
"Considering all the things I've seen in the last few years, I'm ready to believe just about anything," she said, a small smile crossing her face. "Come on. It's not safe out here. You never know if Hawkmoth or one of her cronies is watching…" Once more watching the rooftops, she led Alix away from the park, holding the umbrella over both of them.
Once the initial shock of her friends being dead in this dimension had worn off, Alix glanced down and noticed something about Alya: on her ears were a familiar pair of earrings. At least Ladybug was still around, if not as Marinette. "You, uh, said 'her.' I take it there's a new Hawkmoth running around?"
Alya nodded gravely. "After…everything happened, the old Hawkmoth disappeared. Some people think the same Akuma that…that killed them also killed him. But nobody knows for sure. Honestly? I know it sounds bad, but I really hope that's the case," she hissed.
Alix couldn't blame her. "So, do you have any idea who the new one is?" she asked.
"Only that she's a woman–and that she's even worse than the old one." Alya seemed to be speaking from experience. "She doesn't attack as often, but when she does, it feels much more targeted, more malicious. Whoever she is, she clearly knows what she's doing. She practically has all of Paris under her thumb: Mayor Bourgois' too scared of her to do anything, and the Anti-Akuma Task Force is against us just as much as it is her. Half the city thinks we should just hand over our Miraculous and be done with things."
That sounded familiar to her–she knew her brother had said similar things in the past. It was clear that everything was taking its toll on Alya, as she was nowhere near the bubbly optimist Alix knew. She was closer to how she had been not long before the proto-Death's Head got to her. "But you're still helping the city, right? After seeing what you do, how can they still be against you?"
"You can blame Real_Ladybug99 for that," Alya said bitterly, her fist clenching around the handle. "Some troll online. She claims that she's, well, the real Ladybug, and that she survived, but was forced underground when the 'imposters,' that is, us, arranged for everything to happen so we could steal their Miraculous. The way she tells it, this new Hawkmoth is secretly a hero trying to bring us to justice. We've tried to set the record straight a whole bunch of times, but she has hundreds of people who'll just blindly go along with whatever she says." She sighed. "I…can't be mad at them, though. They're scared, and she's using that to manipulate them."
"Still doesn't mean they should be against the person rescuing them," said Alix. By now, she realized that they had arrived at their old school–most likely still Alya's current school. Seeing as Team Miraculous had met here a few times in the past, she presumed this was where the new team did as well.
Alya folded up her umbrella as they stepped inside. "Yeah, I guess…but with the old Hawkmoth gone, everyone needed someone to rally against after Marinette and Adrien died. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of people on our side, but since nobody knows what really happened, it's easy to jump to conclusions."
She led the newcomer further into the school, making sure there was nobody around as they headed into the basement. It was just as dark and damp as Alix remembered–but there was a certain sense of nostalgic charm to it. A collection of former students was already present there, some who she expected, but others she didn't."
"Good, you're here!" said a woman with blonde hair. Alix recognized her as Chloe's half-sister, Zoe Lee. Given the ring on her finger, she had been chosen as Cat Noir's successor, as Alya had been chosen as Ladybug's. "Wait…Alix!?"
"Long story," said Alya, pulling Alix closer. "Guys, this is Alix, but not our Alix. She's from another dimension, and she needs our help." Alix waved awkwardly. "Other Alix, meet the Resistance!"
The Resistance was, understandably, taken aback by this news, each of them gaping or gawking to some degree. Alix recognized Nino, Luka, and Max, wearing the Miraculous of the turtle, snake, and Horse, respectively, but there was another girl she didn't recognize. She looked a lot like Marinette, and wore the fox necklace.
"Um…that's pretty cool," said Nino. "Hey, Alya? I know the Resistance is supposed to help people, but are you sure we can handle helping her and dealing with Hawkmoth and her Dark Angels at the same time? I mean, not to say we shouldn't, but we're already short-staffed as it is…"
"Hey, not to worry," said Alix, strolling over to the nearby table where Max was seated and placing her broken Miraculous down on it. "I just need to borrow your rabbit Miraculous and I'll be on my way."
"That's…going to be tricky," said Alya. "When the Miracle Box was destroyed, the new Hawkmoth set out to get as many of them as she could. Because of what she could do if she got that one, we had to hide it where she'd never reach it. We gave it to our Alix, and sent her away to the future until we finally manage to win here. I don't think she's coming back before then."
That was definitely a problem. Although Alix wanted to help this dimension, doing so wouldn't mean anything if Death's Head was victorious. "There may be another way," said Max, attracting everyone's attention. "With the information we scanned from Mr. Wu's codex, I may be able to repair it!"
"I am certain we will be able to do so!" said the computer–Markov, evidently.
"Normally, I'd wonder if fixing something like a Miraculous is even possible, but since it's you, I don't think we have anything to worry about," said the woman who looked like Marinette. "Still, that's probably going to take some time, though…"
Alix sighed. "Well…I guess it couldn't hurt to help you guys out. It's the least I could do for your help, after all."
"Glad to hear it!" said Alya with a smile. "Everyone, meet the newest member of the Resistance!" There was some light applause from the others–Alix got the sense that while they were glad to have her, they weren't overjoyed. Just how badly had this new Hawkmoth beaten down on this Paris?
"Um, thank you, thank you!" Alix said, waving. "So, do you have a plan to take down this Hawkmoth of yours?"
"I've been cooking up a little something," the girl who looked like Marinette said slyly. "But first…I think you're going to need a Miraculous of your own!"
As partial as Alix was to Fluff, she could have agreed more.
Marinette and Adrien approached the ruined silhouette of Paris, the roaring winds blowing coarse sand that blotted out the sun. "...Now what?" asked the former, shielding her eyes from the sandstorm. "Out of all the places she could've sent us, why here?"
"I don't know," Adrien replied, leading the way into the city. "Maybe she didn't think we'd be here for long. If she was planning to come and get us right away, then it probably wouldn't matter where she put us. Hopefully, she'll be here soon, once everything's settled back there."
"Yeah, settled," Marinette said. "Adrien, all we know now is that Gabriel was in danger of overheating, which apparently was enough for Alix to try and send him to another dimension. Coupled with Death's Head on the rampage, for all we know, everyone back there could already be…"
Adrien put a hand on her shoulder. "No, don't think like that. True, we don't know what happened, but that's no reason to assume the worst. Maybe they just got held up fighting him, o-or she can't find us, or…" He sighed. "Let's at least find some shelter before we start what-iffing."
That, Marinette could agree on. The two of them made it into the city: whatever had happened here, the buildings were all but buried in sand–no signs of human life anywhere. Eventually, they managed to find shelter in the form of a crumbling office, which at least sheltered them from the winds and sand. "This sucks," she groaned, planting her bat in the ground.
"It does," Adrien said with a nod. "At least we aren't in any danger."
"We aren't but everyone else is!" Marinette responded. "There has to be something we can do. Maybe this timeline still has its Miraculous–if we can find them, we could go back and help them!"
As much as Adrien was certain there wasn't a very good chance of that, he did figure she was right in one regard. "Well, sitting and waiting isn't going to help anyone, at least. Once we've rested up a bit, we'll go and look for–" He went silent, hearing a noise above the wailing wind.
It was a low rumbling, not like any engine or creature either of them had ever heard. They didn't have to wonder where it was coming from for long, as a bright pillar of blue light soon shone down from above. Like a searchlight, it moved down the street, drifting back and forth as it searched for…something. The pair retreated further into their cave, should it turn out to be hostile.
The source of the beam then came into view: it resembled an enormous metallic sphere, with a single glowing eye that scanned the surrounding area. It resembled the Sentimonster Light Eye, only much larger, not to mention more imposing. The giant scout continued to search, until it finally hovered out of view.
"What was that thing?" whispered Marinette, staying quiet in case it hadn't gone far. "Some sort of Akuma?"
"From the looks of it, a Sentimonster," Adrien answered. "A creation of the peacock Miraculous. But why it's still around when the rest of Paris is destroyed, I don't…wait…"
A sudden thought came to Adrien, but it would have to wait. With a sound like a rumbling foghorn, a beam of light enveloped the pair. The blinding spotlight turned from blue to red as it shone over them, soon followed by more sounds like the first from the distance. "We've been spotted! Run for it!" Marinette shouted, as she and Adrien bolted out into the open and down the sandy street.
The Sentimonster turned to face them, but didn't pursue. Instead, two holes opened up at its sides, and numerous white-and-grey humanoids began pouring out. Turning towards the two with only rings in the place of faces, they gave chase.
"I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say this is what happened here," Adrien said, as they continued to run from their pursuers. The humanoids were easily dispatched, disappearing after a few good strikes from their weapons. But since several more of the large eyes were joining the chase, there seemed to be a never-ending supply of them. "In here!" He led her down an alleyway, too narrow for the floating scouts to follow.
Back to back, they readied themselves for the approaching sentries. However, just when they were ready to attack, another beam of light shined down from above. Caught in the Sentimonster's gaze, they found themselves frozen in place. "What the…I can't move!" Marinette managed to stammer. Adrien strained, but he was similarly stuck.
With their targets immobilized, the creatures slowly approached with unknown intentions. However, before they got too close, there was a sudden burst of movement, an entire legion of them sliced in half in a second. Aware of another hostile, but unable to sense them, they searched around for any sign of motion.
Like a rogue windstorm, someone or something darted around the alley, making short work of the creatures. "Is that…?" wondered Adrien, sure he had seen those moves before–or rather, not seen them.
The giant eye tried to pinpoint the source of this attack, but the attacker was just too swift. Once the smaller units were dealt with, a red streak shot up towards the deployer, cleaving it in two with a massive blast of lightning. As its two halves faded away, the person landed before the now-freed pair. She turned around, and underneath her mask and cloak was a face they both recognized. "Kagami…?"
No sooner had she revealed herself than the sound of enormous footsteps shook the ground. "In here." She sliced the handle off a nearby door with her sword, leading them into a warehouse. They all hid behind some boxes as the source of the footsteps, whatever it was, passed on by. Its presence blocked out the light as it stopped to peer into the alley, before deciding to continue on. "It's gone. We're safe now," she said, once it had retreated into the distance.
"Kagami–what's going on here?" Adrien asked. "What happened? Why is Paris destroyed? Where did everyone go?"
Once more turning to face him, he saw that she was around his age. "A better question is, how are you here? I thought I was the only one left after Felix…" She trailed off.
"Wait, Felix? As in, Adrien's creepy cousin?" asked Marinette. "Don't tell me he's the one who did this!"
"Who else?" she replied bitterly. "With the full power of the peacock Miraculous at his disposal, he's turned the entire planet into a Sentimonster 'paradise.' And unless you explain to me where you came from…" She raised her sword to the pair, making them jump. "...I'll be forced to assume he sent you here to draw me out."
Adrien held up his hands. "Woah, hey, we're not Sentimonsters! At least…I dunno, it's complicated! But we're definitely not working for Felix." He and Marinette shared a glance. "It's…complicated. See, we're not exactly from here."
She lowered her sword, but not after a long pause. "I have nowhere to be. Go on–tell me your tale.
Marinette cleared her throat. "Well, it all started when Hawkmoth finally managed to make his wish…"
"...and in other news, another plot by Madame Butterfly was foiled today by Misterbug and Lady Noir. The heroic duo bravely defeated her latest supervillain attacking…"
Gradually, Gabriel came to. He still felt as though he had been hit by a truck, though at least now he wasn't nearly as exhausted. Shirting a bit, he realized he was on his couch–at least, that of his counterpart. He focused on the news, where Alec Cataldi, rather than Nadia Chamack, delivered a report on the two heroes who had foiled his counterpart's latest scheme.
"...but ultimately, was no match for the pair! When asked about this fearsome foe, the duo noted that, while they were able to save the day, Madame Butterfly is not to be underestimated. So when you feel your emotions getting the better of you, viewers, remember to stay calm, lest you be Akumatized!"
This message was accompanied by a drawing of a woman on the screen. She was dressed in a suit remarkably similar to Hawkmoth's, though she wore only an opera-style mask, leaving her long blonde hair exposed. Gabriel's eyes narrowed–he swore he had seen her somewhere before.
"You're awake." He turned around to see Nathalie bringing in a cup of tea. "Here. I don't know what you've been through, sir, but this should help."
A thousand questions running through his mind, Gabriel took the cup. "Thank you, Nathalie." She sat across from him, waiting as he eagerly sucked down the tea–he hadn't realized how thirsty he was. "If I may…and this may sound like an odd question, but what exactly am I doing here?"
"We were wondering the same thing," she replied. Although she maintained her ever-present professional demeanor, Gabriel could tell she was both baffled by his presence, while also overjoyed to see him. Knowing this was only possible because of the years they had worked together, as anyone else would just have seen a very impartial woman. "How…are you here? How are you alive?"
This, coupled with the fact that someone else had the butterfly Miraculous in this timeline, informed Gabriel that she had very good reason to be so glad to see him. "That's, ah, a very good question. Without overwhelming you straight away, let me say that I am…not from around here. Specifically, I come from a different time and place. An–"
"...Alternate dimension," Nathalie finished, much to his surprise. "We had theorized that was a possibility, given the powers the Miraculous have shown, but I never imagined the multiverse would reveal itself in this way. It is…" She took a breath, struggling to keep her composure. "...very good to see you again, sir."
"I can say the same," he replied, taking another sip of tea. "It has been quite a while since I left my home dimension. I haven't seen those I care about in some time…not the same ones, anyway. It has been a long, difficult journey…" He briefly pondered all of the people he had lost, at least potentially. Wherever Adrien, Marinette, and Alix were, he hoped they were safe from Death's Head. "At the very least, it is good to see a friendly face. I take it you will not object to my staying here for a while?"
"So long as you remain confined to the manor, there should be no trouble," she said. "As for what to do next, we will have to discuss what our plans will be moving forward."
Gabriel figured now was the best time to ask. "You have mentioned 'we' a number of times since I awoke. Given my experience, might this other individual be the Madame Butterfly I heard about?"
In response, Nathalie glanced over his shoulder. "I believe he's ready for you, Ma'am." At the sound of someone entering the room, Gabriel turned around to face them…and who he saw made him almost drop his cup to the floor.
Emilie stood in the doorway, looking just as shocked as he was. He rose to his feet, shakily approaching her as she did the same. "Is…is it really you?" she asked. He noticed the butterfly Miraculous above her chest, confirming his suspicions. In this reality, his wife was Hawkmoth–or rather, Madame Butterfly. This could only mean one thing as to his fate. "My Gabriel…"
The world seemed to stand still for a moment as the two of them grew closer, eventually wrapping their arms around one another. Although Emilie was quiet, Gabriel could feel tears on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to sob as well. After having been denied for so long, they were finally together again. "Yes…yes, it's me. I'm home."
In that moment, all thoughts of the outside world were forgotten. Death's Head, the Ripplers, the ITAA, even his companions–none of that mattered now. He was finally where he belonged.