#max cante

[natedogx15]

Miraculous Decendent Chapter 56: Time to Level Up

Previous Chapter

When Adrien and Nino see the pyramid heading toward them, they start running to get out of sight.

"Why does this always happen when we try to hang out more? First Dark Cupid, then Simon Says, and now whatever that is. I'm starting to think we're cursed, dude." Nino groans as they run toward an alley.

"Don't forget what happened at the hotel. Hawkmoth loves ruining our fun." Adrien tries to joke with him.

"True that. So, do we just stay back here until the heroes take it down or wait for it to be out of sight?" Nino asks his friend.

"We should probably leave once it's out of sight and head back to our houses," Adrien tells him so he can have the chance to transform.

"Alright. I'm glad I looked into all the shortcuts between the school and my house. I haven't been late to school since Ivan turned into Stoneheart." Nino tells his friend with a joking grin.

Adrien smiles, and the two wait for the pyramid to pass.

In said Pyramid, Gamer laughs as he collects more experience points for the mech thanks to the people and objects he turned into green orbs.

"At this rate, I'll level up before even seeing the heroes," Gamer says as he turns another car into experience points.

Max's Akuma form, like Evillustrator, changed his clothes while giving him purple-tinted skin. His new outfit consisted of a full-body black jumpsuit with a green circle on his chest. There are also three curved green stripes on the waist and each of his forearms and lower legs. He has a matching neck cover with a large black helmet that curves at the top. Over his face are green-tinted butterfly-shaped glasses.

"I'm glad to hear you're progressing well, Gamer. But stay on guard. I will not be giving you a player two today. You'll be fighting on your own." Hawkmoth warns the excited teen villain.

"Worry not, Hawkmoth. I'll not need a player two who will only steal my experience. I am the master of games and can easily handle anything the heroes throw at me. They won't even be able to reach me while I'm within this mech. My victory is all but guaranteed at this point." Gamer confidently tells Hawkmoth.

"Do not get arrogant with me, child. If it were so easy to defeat the heroes, my other Akumas would have done it already. Don't forget that Cat Noir's power is destruction. He can turn your mech to ash in an instant. If you're not careful, you will lose." Hawkmoth reprimands the Akuma, not willing to allow arrogance this time.

Gamer scowls at the sudden order but doesn't say anything against it since he does see Hawkmoth's point. Instead, he decides to take his annoyance out on the area around him by firing more lasers to collect more experience points. His mech soon passes Adrien and Nino's hiding spot, and the two escape.

"Stay safe, Nino," Adrien tells his friend before they split off.

"I'll be alright, dude. You keep safe, too!" Nino shouts back to him, not seeing Adrien duck behind a car.

"I can't guarantee that. Since I'm going to have to fight against that thing." Adrien mutters as Plagg appears, and he transforms into Cat Noir.

He's not the only one transforming. In her room at home, Sabrina has her TV on while she's doing homework when her show is interrupted by an emergency news broadcast.

"This is Nadja Chamack coming to you with an emergency Akuma alert. Hawkmoth has created a flying pyramid that's turning anyone and anything it sees into green orbs before collecting them downtown." Nadja says as she flies in a helicopter behind Gamer's mech.

Sabrina's attention quickly shifts to the urgent way Nadja is talking, and she sees the news broadcast.

"Looks like it's time for your second appearance. Let's do this, pup." Barkk says with a smile as she flies next to Sabrina.

"Right. Barkk, let the hunt begin." Sabrina announces before Barkk flies into her collar.

She quickly exits her family's apartment through a window and rushes toward downtown to stop Gamer. It takes her a few minutes of roof jumping, but she finally arrives. When she does, she sees Cat Noir jumping around the mech as it tries to shoot him with a green beam.

Seeing her opportunity to attack, Canine pulls out her rubber ball and throws it at the mech while Cat Noir distracts Gamer. The attack slams into the side of the mech and causes it to hit the ground while shocking both hero and villain. When it does, the beam it shot misses Cat Noir and hits a flock of pigeons.

Taking this chance, Canine and Cat Noir meet up while the rubber ball bounces around until it lands in Canine's hand.

"Man, that is a cool weapon. I know you told me about how it'll bounce, but still. That's so cool." Cat Noir says excitedly as he looks at her item.

"Thanks. But we should focus on getting the butterfly. Do you know where it could be?" Canine smiles toward him.

"Nope. It could be in the eye or inside." Cat Noir suggests before the two close in on the mech.

In his mech, Gamer is shaking his head while trying to recover from the shock of the attack. When he does, he sees the heroes carefully inching toward him with their weapons ready. Unfortunately, they put him in this position too late, as that last bit of experience from the pigeons was just enough for a 'Level Up' icon to appear in front of him.

"Hahaha, too late, heroes. Because I've already leveled up!" Gamer announces as he presses the icon.

As he does, the heroes recognize his voice from his laugh due to the mech amplifying his voice to let them hear it.

"Max!" The two shout in shock before turning to each other in surprise.

"Max isn't my gamer tag anymore. It's the Gamer now." Gamer announces as his mech glows before growing. It now has a small but long rectangular body under the pyramid head with tall black tentacle-like limbs with horizontal green stripes along it and yellow clamps for hands that make the mech as tall as the buildings around it.

The heroes' jaws drop in shock at the sudden evolution of Max's mech before having to jump out of the way of a laser blast.

Regaining his bearings, Cat Noir raises his palm while preparing to activate one of his powers.

"Cata-" He starts before getting slammed through a building by one of the mech's new tentacle-like limbs.

"I won't let you use that ability!" Gamer shouts toward Cat Noir before getting hit by Canine's rubber ball again and slightly losing his balance from the force.

Gamer glares at the dog heroine before swinging his arm at her. Canine jumps out of the way and is about to go for another attack. Before she can, Gamer puts the arm he swung on the ground and uses the other to attempt to stomp on her to capture her with the mech's clamp hand.

Canine quickly rolls out of the way of the second attack, but Gamer follows it up by sweeping that arm to the side and slamming her into a pole.

"Ow." Canine groans from her position on the ground before the now bent pole.

"Hahaha. I'm sure you heroes will be worth a lot of experience." Gamer grins as he aims his mech's laser at the downed heroine and is about to fire on her.

Before he can, though, Cat Noir lengthens his baton and jams it into the mech's mechanical eye. This causes the baton to be turned into experience but also has the laser to hit the mech. Using this opportunity now that the mech and Gamer are disoriented, Cat Noir runs over to Canine and helps her up.

"You okay?" He asks her while helping her.

"Yeah. But what are we going to do?" Canine asks before they notice Gamer starting to recover.

"I think we should run." He tells her before the two do just that as Gamer recovers.

"You're not getting away!" He shouts at the heroes as he chases after them while trying to hit them with his laser.

With Marinette. She's in her room, looking into a mirror as she's practicing what she plans to say to her parents during their meeting with Ladybug.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain. I've heard about Marinette's situation from her. Does that sound good?" She asks herself after her introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain. I'm here to talk to you about Marinette's punishment and her working with me. That's pretty formal and right to the point." Marinette mutters as she puts a hand to her chin.

After a few more tries, Marinette groans as she puts her head into her hands.

"This is impossible. How am I supposed to do this? What if they want Ladybug and Marinette at the same time?" As Marinette panics with the what-ifs, she notices something outside her window.

Walking toward it, she sees Gamer's mech chasing after something and panics.

"Of course, Hawkmoth does this when I'm trying to plan how to talk to my parents." She groans as Tikki appears.

"The path of life is always a busy one. Shall we take care of one of your problems?" Tikki asks with a smile.

"Let's do it. Maybe beating Hawkmoth again will help me clear my head." Marinette nods before she transforms into Ladybug.

Peaking her head out her balcony window, Ladybus sees no one else and jumps out before zipping toward Gamer.

Back on the ground, Gamer is taking every opportunity while chasing the two heroes to gather more experience to level up while they're trying to figure out what to do. Each time Cat Noir tries to use his powers, Gamer would focus on him, ignoring Canine. Eventually, the two heroes led Gamer into a sports stadium.

"Any ideas how to beat this guy before he levels up again?" Cat Noir panics as he jumps over another swing from Gamer.

"I could try seeing if Fetch would separate him from the robot." She responds.

Cat Noir is unsure if that's a good idea since it may end up causing Canine to waste her power. Gamer takes advantage of that moment of uncertainty and pins Cat Noir to the ground.

"Got you!" He shouts gleefully, causing Canine to panic.

"Cat Noir!" she shouts worriedly before she prepares to throw her rubber ball at Gamer again but is instead sent into a building wall.

"I'll be collecting the rest of your experience and your Miraculous now," Gamer tells him confidently as he prepares to fire at the trapped hero.

However, his vision is suddenly blocked slightly by a yo-yo wrapping around the head of the mech before Ladybug comes in and slams her feet into its eye. The shock from her sudden appearance causes Gamer to instinctively pull back on the controls and make his mech release Cat Noir.

At the same time, Cat Noir sees his opportunity and chases after the mech while shouting.

"Cataclysm!"

He chases after the retracting arm and manages to hit it. The mech's body turns to ash until only Gamer is left, and he falls toward the ground. Gamer crashes into the concrete as the heroes recover and group up.

"Are you two okay?" Ladybug asks them worriedly.

"I'm fine. The suit protected me from everything he threw at us." Cat Noir says while pointing at himself.

"Yeah. I'm also fine. Thank you." Canine nods.

Ladybug looks relieved to hear they're okay before giving them an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I wasn't here sooner. I didn't know there was an Akuma until I looked out my window." She tells them.

"It's fine." Cat Noir tells her while Canine silently nods.

After that, the group turns toward a groaning Gamer as he's getting up. However, something else is with them besides the Akuma. It's a floating orb similar to the ones Gamer made with his lasers. But large and red.

"Is this normal?" Canine asks as she looks at the orb.

"No. That's never happened before. It must have to do with the Akuma." Ladybug tells her as the group approaches Gamer.

"It's probably loot. When you defeat something in a video game, they usually drop something. Since this guy is based on video games, it's probably the same thing." Cat Noir suggests with a smile as he inches closer toward the orb excitedly.

While he does that, Ladybug and Canine walk toward Gamer.

"Looks like your system just crashed, Gamer," Ladybug tells him with a confident smirk.

However, Gamer has a smirk of his own as he pulls himself off the ground.

"You're forgetting the rules of the game Ladybug. That was only round one. And I saved my last level." Gamer tells her with a grin as he taps the corner of his glasses.

Suddenly, the mech Cat Noir destroyed reforms.

"Ah, the old spawn point glitch again." Cat Noir groans before the group hears Gamer's voice.

"Not only that, but I also collected enough experience to level up again. Let's see how you deal with this." He tells them as he has the mech level up again.

The mech now has a bulky humanoid body, and the clamps break apart to make fingers.

The heroes' eyes widen when they see Gamer's new form, but Ladybug quickly takes charge of the situation.

"Did you see him tap the corner of his glasses? The Akuma must be in there. We have to get those off him." She tells the other two in an authoritative tone.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Canine asks anxiously as she backs away from the newly upgraded mech.

"By leveling up, too," Ladybug tells her before looking toward Cat Noir and the loot they got.

Realizing what she's thinking, Cat Noir gains an excited grin before slamming his hand on the loot. When he does, it materializes a giant mech of equal stature to Gamer's newly upgraded one.

The humanoid mech looks like a mix of all three heroes. It has a red and black spotted upper body, a black lower body with silver kneecaps, a black mechanical tail, and silver paw-like feet. Atop its head are stubby black ears, and on its shoulders are red black-dotted shields. On the face of the mech is an orange-tinted V-shaped visor. In the middle of its chest is a dog-head symbol similar to the one on Canine's vest. Around the silver stubs on the kneecaps of the mech are orange outlines.

Upon the materialization of the mech, the heroes found themselves automatically put into the controls of it. The control room has three seats, each surrounded by buttons and levers. When the three heroes enter the mech, Ladybug ends up in the middle seat, Canine on her right, and Cat Noir on her left. Ladybug quickly notices she's in charge of the mech's movements.

"Ah. I want to be the one to control the mech. I play Ultimate Mecha Strike III all the time." Cat Noir complains when he realizes what Ladybug is in charge of.

"You may play it, but I'm the master of it," Ladybug tells him with a playful smirk as she takes the controls and performs several impressive feats of acrobatics to prove her point and get used to the controls.

"...Okay. That tracks." Cat Noir nods after seeing what she did.

Ladybug smiles as, in her mind, she's screaming in excitement at the chance to control a mech from her favorite game in real life.

"Careful. He's coming!" Canine shouts to get her fellow heroes' attention.

Ladybug shakes off her excitement and sees Gamer charging at them with his fist reeled back for a punch. Acting quickly, Ladybug pulls the controls back and causes Miraculous Mech to dodge to the side. She then follows it up with a swift kick into Gamer's back that causes him to slam into the stands.

Gamer growls as he recovers from the impact and notices Miraculous Mech charging at him. Instead of panicking, Gamer smirks.

"Not smart. You're forgetting that, in this game, the robots can do more than punch and kick. Rocket Barrage!" Gamer shouts as compartments on the back of his mech open and rockets launch at the charging Miraculous Mech.

The rockets hit dead on, and Miraculous Mech crashes atop the green. Gamer quickly takes advantage of this by getting up and jumping on the downed mech.

"Drill Fist!" Gamer shouts as his arm spins like a drill, and he uses it to try and tear into Miraculous Mech.

The heroes panic as Ladybug tries to get them out of this situation, but Gamer keeps them under his mech while using the attack.

"A little help! What do we have?" Ladybug shouts toward her teammates as she continues her desperate attempts to escape.

Cat Noir and Canine look at their panels for something that can help them in this situation before Cat Noir spots something.

"Rocket Punch!" He shouts before pressing a button.

Thrusters suddenly appear behind the Miraculous Mech's forearm and launch their fist into Gamer with enough force to get him off Miraculous Mech. Ladybug then takes this chance to spin them off the ground and back into a fighting stance. While she does this, Canine finds something to use and presses it while saying.

"Miracle Blast."

The dog symbol on Miraculous Mech opens and fires a red beam at the downed Gamer, dragging him across the ground and crashing into the stand wall.

"Alright!" The heroes happily exclaim at their successful attacks before Gamer stands up.

"Not bad. But let's see how you handle this!" He shouts as the top of his bulky shoulders open and more missiles launch out toward them.

Acting quickly, Canine hits a button she saw before while looking for a weapon.

"Miracle Shield!" She shouts as one of the shoulder shields emits a red light, and a red energy shield appears on that side's forearm.

Ladybug quickly turns the mech so the energy shield blocks the missiles' paths, and they blow up, sending Miraculous Mech skidding back slightly from the force behind them.

"Nice. My turn. When you have a shield, you need a Cat Saber!" Cat Noir shouts while grinning like he's having the time of his life as he slams his fist onto another button.

The mechanical tail on Miraculous Mech suddenly goes rigid, and Ladybug pulls it off. The tail is enveloped with pink and red energy as Miraculous Mech wields it like a sword. When Cat Noir sees this, he grins like a kid in a candy store.

"Today is making so many of my dreams come true right now." He tells the girls as they all prepare to charge at Gamer again.

"Is this the time to be having fun?" Canine asks him as Miraculous Mech charges toward Gamer with the Cat Saber raised to strike.

However, Gamer rolls to the side of the downward strike before quickly getting to his feet and launching himself high in the air.

"Uh oh!" Cat Noir screams in a panic as he sees Gamer in the air.

"What?" Canine asks worriedly.

"Power move!" Ladybug tells her in equal panic to Cat Noir as Gamer raises his hand, and the area above him glows green.

"Drill Crush!" Gamer announces with a smirk as he launches himself downward with a giant drill, easily dwarfing the mech itself in place of its hand.

Ladybug quickly raises her shield to block the incoming attack. However, the continuous force from the drill, combined with the weight of both it and the mech, pushes Miraculous Mech back. After a few seconds, both mechs are blown away from each other, with Miraculous Mech crashing onto its butt while Gamer lands on his feet.

In Miraculous Mech, the heroes groan as they try to recover from the shock while Gamer laughs.

"How do you like that, heroes? I am the best player in the world! After I bring your Miraculous to Hawkmoth, I'll show Chloe that, too." Gamer announces, causing Canine's eyes to widen.

"As if we'll let that happen! You won't beat us or harm any more innocent people!" Canine shouts toward Gamer, shaking her teammates out of their stupor simultaneously.

Ladybug quickly takes back the controls and nods to Canine's words.

"She's right! You haven't beaten us yet! Because now, it's my turn! Lady Bombs!" Ladybug announces as she hits a button.

As Miraculous Mech gets up, the black spots on the shields open, and ladybug-themed rockets fire from them toward Gamer. But Gamer isn't intimidated. Instead, he has a confident and competitive smirk as his mech glows green, and an energy dome forms around him to block the missiles.

"Laser Wall!" He says while doing so.

Ladybug grits her teeth when she sees this and

"Ladybug Helix!" Ladybug shouts as the two shields fly off Miraculous Mech toward Gamer.

But they don't work as Gamer grabs one of the shields while blocking the other with his other arm, making Ladybug angrier.

"Double Rocket Punch!" Cat Noir suddenly announces as he presses a button, and Miraculous Mech lifts their arms before they launch toward Gamer.

However, instead of blocking the attacks, Gamer's mech breaks apart to avoid the attack.

"Oh, come on! That's not fair!" Cat Noir complains while Canine presses another button.

"Ear Thunder!" She says as Miraculous Mech's ears glow and fires a beam of electricity at Gamer.

"Gamer Lightning!" Gamer shouts as he raises his arms and fires his own lightning to neutralize the attack.

This surprises the heroes, and Gamer takes the chance to charge toward them. Ladybug acts quickly, and the two robots enter a close combat match.

"Sweep his legs!" Canine suggests as Ladybug ducks under a punch.

However, Gamer jumps over the attack and fires one of his own.

"Gamer Fire," Gamer says as an orb of green energy fires from the face of his robot and hits Miraculous Mech, causing it to be lifted in the air while bent over and continuously taking damage.

Gamer slams his foot into Miraculous Mech before teleporting behind them to deliver another attack. However, Canine acts quickly and presses another button.

"Canine Eye!"

Suddenly, a laser beam fires from Miraculous Mech's visor and stops Gamer. This gives Miraculous Mech enough time to recover.

"Nice Canine." Ladybug compliments her with a smile.

Canine nods before frowning.

"What are we going to do, though? At this rate, we're going to lose. We can't match him." She tells the two.

"We need to somehow get into his mech or pin him," Ladybug tells them as Gamer recovers from the attack and Cat Noir presses another button.

"Catouken!" He shouts as Miraculous Mech crouches while forming an orb of pink energy.

It then launches it at the stunned Gamer and causes them to fall to the ground. Ladybug quickly follows this with one of her moves and piledrives Gamer's mech.

"How do we do that?" Cat Noir asks.

Ladybug thinks about it before turning toward Cat Noir.

"Take the controls. Try to keep Gamer pinned while I use Seamstress to get in." Ladybug tells him.

Cat Noir nods, and Ladybug gets up before climbing out of the control room to be on Miraculous Mech's shoulder.

"Will she be okay?" Canine asks worriedly as she watches the hatch close.

"Oh yeah. She can handle it. She always does." Cat Noir tells Canine confidently.

Canine still doesn't look happy, not liking that Ladybug is out there alone.

"Now, how will we hold him down for her?" Cat Noir asks.

"You need to trip him up and put him to the ground. Put our leg behind his and push him. Then we'll have a good angle atop him to control his movements." Canine quickly tells him.

"Alright." Cat Noir nods and charges toward the recovering robot.

"No, you don't." Gamer glares as he throws a punch, but Miraculous Mech sidesteps it.

Cat Noir follows Canine's suggestion and places Miraculous Mech's leg between Gamer's and behind one of them before hitting Gamer with Miraculous Mech's shoulder. At the same time, Ladybug holds onto Miraculous Mech tightly until she sees her chance.

"Seamstress!" She shouts as her outfit changes.

Her new outfit gives her a full-body red cloak with black edges and a hood over her head.

With this outfit, she jumps off Miraculous Mech and phases through Gamer's mech into the controls.

"What?" Gamer asks in shock before getting punched in the face, breaking his glasses, and releasing the butterfly.

Ladybug doesn't waste time capturing the butterfly and activating Miraculous Ladybug from within the mech, getting rid of it, Miraculous Mech, and any damage Gamer did. This, unfortunately, has the side effect of causing Cat Noir and Canine to fall toward the field.

"Ahh." They scream before hitting the ground.

"Are you two okay!" Ladybug calls to them in worry.

They groan for a second before signaling their fine as Max looks around in confusion.

"What happened?" He asks.

"Let's just say Hawkmoth made you into a boss," Ladybug tells him with a winch.

Next Chapter

[ithappensoffstage]

I am genuinely so worried for all the young horny dykes going into adulthood thinking there's something "problematic" / "wrong" with them for being horny because fucking tiktok lesbians think any horny dyke content is "male gaze fetishistic"

[ham1lton]

YN on tiktok: hey guys! can you watch my boss for a sec? Lewis: 🤨

author’s note: omg spinoff four. i promised to take a break. i apologise 😔 feel free to send more scenarios/ships u wanna see with assistant yn! i might even start doing texts as well as these mini ig posts. whatever you guys think is best.

liked by bestie, maxverstappen1 and 873,213 others.

yourusername: lewis be like ‘yn get off that damn phone, stop taking pictures of me and go do your job!’ but he doesn’t even know i run a successful ig page with tons of hot sexy bad bitches who follow me.

view all 20,737 comments

user1: girl do u ever do your job? 😭

-> yourusername: yes ofc i do. looking after my baby roscoe and ignoring the other guy, whatshisface.

-> lewishamilton: yn…

-> yourusername: i know… fired again 😔

maxverstappen1: you look gorgeous.

-> yourusername: i appreciate this, but i post for the bad bitches only.

-> maxverstappen1: i am the bad bitch you speak of.

-> yourusername: my bad 😔💔

bestie: i look so cute in the second picture fr 🥰

-> yourusername: ur always sexy bae 😍

user3: where did u get that shirt omggg!! so cute!!

-> yourusername: stole it from lando’s closet. that’s why it’s so small on me.

oscarpiastri: i took that second photo btw 📸

-> yourusername: we know, and we love you for it.

-> oscarpiastri: 😁

user2: i am one of yn’s sexy bad bitches 😍

*liked by yourusername.*

user4: ROSCOE PIC!

user5: lewis looks so cute in that pic 🥺

-> yourusername: don’t let the babygirl appearance fool you.

user6: where is jude???

user8: i miss seeing yn and george interact 😔

-> user9: all she did was bully him and flirt with his girlfriend??

-> user8: exactly 😔

user10: i love your tiktoks!! lewis’ face when you put the camera in front of him was hilarious.

-> user11: he was like ‘yn wtf u making me do now??’ 😭 he is sick of her shenanigans

-> user12: no literally 😭😭 she be putting his ass through it. you’d think she was the merc admin.

-> user13: don’t disrespect her like that omg. that shady ass admin.

*liked by yourusername.*

user7: are her and lewis dating?

-> yourusername: lewis said if i start dating rumours i’m fired but i think i’d be a sexy wag 😍 we’re not dating though. that man signs my paychecks x

-> user7: you’re a prostitute?

-> lewishamilton: NO. she’s my assistant. stop letting people think we’re in some sort of pretty woman relationship yourusername

-> yourusername: but it’s fun 😔 and i’m bored 😔

-> landonorris: you wouldn’t be bored with me yn

-> yourusername: not now lando

-> landonorris: sorry 😔

[diioonysus]

green is the fresh emblem of well founded hope. in blue the spirit can wander, but in green it can rest

[eterniravioli]

i don’t remember who said that max races charles differently because he knows that charles would rather shunt both of them into the barrier rather than let max past

thinking about that after seeing max chase lewis down like a maniac and then politely trying to catch up to charles after

[7lizardsinacoat]

Darkness will spare my soul

Here's all my Nerdy Prude Must Die paintings in one set! These teens live rent free in my head for all eternity. I think i have the show memorized at this point for how much I watched it while doing these.

Yes I redid Richie's painting Don't look at me . (and shout out to @to-our-own-fairytale for the banger quote suggestion)

Edit: By popular demand, I have added these as prints to my store! Find them here!

[obsob]

the accolade ( the...the cat-olade...)

[countingstars-17]

nothing just max being shocked to learn that grizzly bears can run 40 miles per hour

[slicedblackolives]

you know who lost succession? jeremy strong. man gave his soul for kendall roy and gave it so beautifully and now he has to take his "i believe in making work where the sense of self and the character is amorphous" ass and go job hunting in a media landscape where the options are MCU hero#154 or olaf from live action frozen.

[ruporas]

kiss (ID in alt text)

[peoplesprincessgeorge]

txt posts + f1 = true 3.0

[natedogx15]

Miraculous Decendent Chapter 55: Chapter Step Your Game Up

Previous Chapter

With a tired yawn, a fully dressed-for-school Nate is knocking on Marinette's door for what feels like the third time this morning.

"Come on, Marinette. I'm usually the one that hates being woken up between us." Nate sighs as he continues knocking until finally, Marinette opens the door... with baggy eyes while still in her pajamas.

"Woah. You look terrible. What were you doing all night? I thought your mom took away all your sowing stuff?" Nate asks as he steps back in shock at Marinette's appearance.

"I-I was thinking about something last night, and it kept me up." Marinette still has enough energy to blush in embarrassment.

Nate raises an eyebrow before deciding to put it off until they walk to school.

"Alright. I'll be waiting downstairs for when you're ready." Nate tells her before walking off.

Marinette nods before closing the door and yawning as she heads to her closet. She soon walks out in her ladybug-themed jacket, a short-sleeve white shirt with a pink flower branch, light blue jeans, and pink flats.

As she's getting her stuff for school, she's thinking back to last night and Canine's suggestion. She then thinks about last night and how the question kept her up.

"Maybe I should stop trying to learn more about my ancestor until Hawkmoth is defeated. After all, we have an extra person now. It might make defeating him easier. And protecting Paris is the most important thing right now." Marinette thinks as she checks her bag to make sure everything is inside.

She's afraid to go too far into her family's past with everything going on. They were lucky Barkk chose someone who would help them. But there's no telling what could happen next time they try to open the box or what she might find while investigating her family. She's worried she might accidentally make the situation worse somehow.

"I might talk to the others about this later," Marinette tells herself before going to her bathroom to finish getting ready.

After a short while, she walks into the lobby to see a waiting Nate tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

"Sorry, it took me so long." Marinette apologizes while Nate shrugs.

The two head to school, and as they walk, Nate asks.

"So, what kept you up last night? Have you figured out how to tell our parents we're working for Ladybug?" Nate asks her.

"Maybe. I'm worried they'll ask me and Ladybug to be in the same place. I think I can make a convincing copy of myself using my powers. But that's not what's on my mind now." Marinette tells him truthfully.

"What else has happened while I've been locked in my room?" Nate asks her, though, not wanting the answer.

"Well, Barkk chose someone our age, and she's helping us fight against Hawkmoth. So, that's good. But." Marinette then explains to Nate about last night's meeting and Canine's suggestion.

"Why didn't we ever think of that?" Nate questions while facepalming.

"I'm worried, though. I'm not sure I want to pry into my family's history anymore. What if we find something that could cause things to get worse?" Marinette asks him.

Nate winches when he hears that and can see Marinette's point.

"I do not know how to answer you. I honestly am not sure at this point. Maybe you can test your luck after getting everything else handled. I'd rather you focus on getting us out of trouble with our parents." Nate tells her honestly.

This time, it's Marinette's turn to winch at the reminder that Nate is in as much trouble as she is.

"Sorry. I promise I'm trying. I just need to figure out the best way to introduce them to Ladybug." Marinette immediately apologizes to him while explaining what she's waiting for.

"I am going crazy from not being able to play anything." Nate sighs as his shoulders slump slightly.

Marinette winches again and sends him another apologetic glance as they arrive at a crosswalk and can see the school.

"Have you touched the Miracle Box, by the way?" Nate suddenly asks her with a raised eyebrow, causing Marinette to jolt slightly in surprise.

"No. I don't want to mess with it anymore. For a while, at least." Marinette tells him, causing Nate to nod in slight understanding.

"I guess that makes sense. Hopefully, Hawkmoth doesn't use this as a chance to reveal he can make three Akumas at once, and we have to risk opening the box again." Nate decides to lighten the mood with a bad joke.

Marinette cringes at the prospect and playfully smacks his shoulder while saying.

"Please, never make that joke again. I don't want to imagine fighting three Akumas, even if we have the numbers to match them." She tells him with a slight shudder at the idea.

"Sorry. I'll let you enjoy having the numbers advantage over Hawkmoth again." Nate apologizes while raising his hands in surrender.

After that, the two quickly find themselves in the school and are about to head up the stairs for class before Nate suddenly stops while looking at a poster.

"Nate? What's wrong?" Marinette asks him in confusion before walking back over to him.

When she looks toward where he's looking, she sees a tryout poster for a gaming tournament with her favorite game, Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

"Ugh. This is so tempting right now." Nate emphasizes the so as he looks at the poster desperately and excitedly.

"Wouldn't your dad kill you if you tried even trying out for the tournament?" Marinette asks him with a raised eyebrow.

Nate slumps and releases a dramatic groan at the reminder before staring back at the poster with puppy dog eyes.

"I know. But I'm going crazy." Nate tells her as she slowly pulls him away from the poster.

"Come on. I promise I'll get everything done soon. Just give me a little more time." Marinette promises her cousin.

With a deep sigh, Nate is willingly pulled away from the poster, and the two head to class.

Upon arriving in class, the group sees Alix's group of her, Max, and Kim happily chatting on the other side of the room. Well, it's mostly Max.

"I've been waiting for this tournament all year. I've spent so much time practicing the game to lose." Max proudly tells his friends.

"Well. This will be entertaining to watch, then." Alix tells her friend with a smile.

"Yeah, Max. You're going to crush the competition like all the best athletes in their sports!" Kim shouts at Max as he puts an arm over Max's shoulders with a grin.

"Indubitably." Max nods to Kim's excitement.

Hearing their excitement for the competition causes Nate to groan again and Marinette to pat his back comfortingly.

"There, there. Maybe we can do something." Marinette can't stand to see her friend acting like this.

"If our parents find out either of us skipped being grounded before you have them talk to 'Ladybug,' we are dead. And they will. You know how important rules and order are to Mr. Damocles. Trust me, you won't like Dad's punishment when I disobey his groundings." Nate bluntly reminds her while making finger quotes at Ladybug, causing Marinette to winch.

"If they're anything like my mom's," Marinette doesn't even finish her sentence as she imagines different punishments Samuel and Sabine can do to them.

The two sit silently as others begin filing into the room until class starts. Before class begins, Miss Bustier makes an announcement.

"Students, after the events from career day, Mr. Damocles has taken some time off to work from home. So, if any of you have anything to ask him, you may have to send an email to him." Miss Bustier explains to her class as she writes Mr. Damocles' email address for her students in case they need him.

A couple of the more studious students write the address down. But one is distracted by something else they talked about last night.

After talking with the heroes, Sabrina told her father everything, including how the heroes aren't any closer to figuring out who Hawkmoth is than the police. It did disappoint Roger slightly, but he didn't look that surprised, given that the heroes looked young.

"That's fine. It makes me somewhat happy. It means we police have something important to do against Hawkmoth that we are good at." She remembers him telling her with a smile on his face.

Remembering that smile makes Sabrina happy. But she can't help but focus and worry about how no one knows who Hawkmoth is or even has an idea. The shock and excitement of becoming a hero have already subsided. Now she's worried about losing her Miraculous before they can figure out who Hawkmoth is and her father being put in danger.

"Everything should be okay. While Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't good investigators, they've proven to be amazing heroes and will be helping me keep my Miraculous." Sabrina mind chants to calm her nerves, not noticing that someone can see her worry.

Chloe raises an eyebrow as she sees Sabrina get distracted sometimes before smiling.

"Looks like something is on Little Miss Justice's mind. It's been a while since I've seen her react like this. This could be fun." Chloe silently thinks to herself as she decides to wait and watch Sabrina to see if she can figure out what's wrong with the girl.

Class continues as usual, and the school day ends quickly for the class. After class, Marinette and Nate head back to the hotel while Adrien stays at school. Nathalie told him he could spend some time with his friends after school and decided to spend it in the library to compete in the gaming competition.

"This is going to be awesome. This is my first time trying out for a school competition, and I love Ultimate Mecha Strike III." Adrien tells Nino with an excited grin as the two head toward the library.

"That's cool, dude. It's nice to get to hang out with you a bit after school. I play, too. So maybe we can be the ones to take on the other schools and bring home a trophy." Nino tells his friend with a grin.

The two enter the library to see a rather large group of students waiting for the tryouts to start. The one leading the competition in place of Mr. Damocles is Mylène's father and an assistant educator at the school, Fred Haprèle.

Adrien and Nino look around to see who's here. Among the students are Max, his friends, Mireille with Thèo, and the person who turned into Magician of Misfortune, Jean Duparc. However, the most shocking person there causes Adrien and Nino's jaws to drop when they see her.

"Dude, why is Chloe here of all places?" Nino questions his friend as the two stare at a scowling Chloe, waiting with crossed arms.

"...I guess she likes gaming," Adrien says after taking a few seconds to process that she's there and it's not someone else.

"That's surprising. She never came off as the type to enjoy games. I thought she only cared about studying, baking, and torturing us." Nino whispers so Chloe doesn't hear him.

However, he doesn't do a good enough job as Chloe sees them staring at her in surprise, and it causes her scowl to grow.

"They're probably surprised to see me here and talking smack. Just wait. I'll crush you two if we have to play against each other. I am so taking the gold here and when I represent our school." Chloe thinks as she pulls out her phone while waiting for Fred to make his announcement.

While messing with her phone, Chloe adds another thought.

"I'll show everyone here how much better I am by getting our school a trophy. I'm exceptional like the rest of my family."

After a little bit more waiting to let others who want to join the tournament arrive, Fred finally begins his announcement.

"Welcome everyone to the tryouts for the school district's Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament. I'm Fred Haprèle, and I'll be taking Mr. Damocle's place in charge of these tryouts while he takes some time to recover from being turned into a villain." Fred introduces himself in a friendly manner with a slight wave.

After giving the students a second to process this information, Fred continues.

"This tournament will be our school's way of finding the two best players to represent our school in the actual tournament. We will have a few fights among the participants while keeping track of points. Whichever two players have the most points by the end will represent us." Fred explains as he pulls out a bracket board and marker to write down names.

After that, everyone playing in the tournament has their names written down, and it begins. It was entertaining for those who came to cheer for one of the competitors and fun for the participants. Max, Adrien, and, surprisingly, Chloe are the ones that specifically stand out. Every match they played in, they crushed the opposition. Until it finally reaches a point where two of them have to face each other, those being Adrien and Max.

"Come on, Max. You've got this." Alix cheers for her friend while Kim throws his hands up.

"Yeah, kick his rich butt!"

"Hey!" Adrien shouts toward Kim in hurt.

"Don't let him psyche you out, dude! You've got this!" Nino cheers for his friend while Chloe hmphs.

"Hurry up and play already so I can crush the other." She orders while impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

"I hope you're ready to lose, Adrien because I've been practicing for this tournament as soon as I heard about it. Beating you will be as easy as our last math test." Max warns Adrien with a confident smile as he chooses a black and green mech with a devil-like appearance named UFO.GR.

"Well, good luck then, Max." Adrien is uncertain what to say and can only wish the other player luck while choosing a black cat-like mech named NAD03.

The match begins, and everyone there can easily say it was the most intense one they've seen today. Combo, reversals, and special moves are used on both sides, and they seemed to be on equal footing for most of it. Everyone cheers for Adrien or Max to win as they watch the intense game. Finally, Adrien comes out on top with an excellent combo into a finisher. The points he gets from that match put him at the top of the leaderboard, with Max behind him in second place and Chloe third.

"And with that, we have only one more match before we decide who's qualified to represent us. It will be between Chloe and Max for second place." Fred announces as Adrien swaps place with Chloe, but not before she can give him a snide comment.

"Better not get in my way during the tournament. Otherwise, you can expect life here to get a whole lot worse." She growls at him, causing Adrien to gulp nervously as he takes his spot next to Nino.

"Crush her, Max! Crush her and shatter her pride!" Alix is especially loud with her cheering as she glares at Chloe from behind.

"Avenge me for Happy Heart's Day!" Kim cheers with her with everyone else in the room. 

Nobody is on Chloe's side, but it doesn't look like the dislike surrounding her affects her. She just confidently smirks as she takes her seat.

Fueled by the cheers around him, his own dislike for Chloe, and his wish to compete in the tournament, Max glares at the screen as he picks the same avatar as he did in his match against Adrien.

Ignoring everything and fueled by her desire to prove her superiority to everyone, Chloe chooses the pink and black one-eyed robot R2D3. With both bots picked, the match begins.

However, to everyone's shock, unlike the last match, this is a one-sided slaughter in favor of Chloe. Max can barely get any hits back before he ultimately loses to Chloe.

"Ha. In your faces, losers! Your grand champion couldn't do anything against me!" Chloe shouts at everyone as her accumulated points put her ahead of Max and Adrien.

Max sits in shock as he tries to understand how he lost to Chloe so one-sidedly while Chloe continues to taunt everyone who cheered for him.

"Alright, alright. That's enough, everyone. The ones representing us will be Chloe and Adrien. Thank you all for coming out to try and represent the school or to support your friends." Fred thanks everyone while clapping his hands to get them to stop.

Chloe has a proud expression while Max finally accepts the results. With his head hung low, he looks toward Chloe while holding his hand out.

"Good game. You've proven more worthy than me to be in this tournament. I wish you and Adrien luck." He tells her in a forced, cheerful tone.

"Ha, like I need luck. I'm a Bourgeois. We don't need luck. We're all talent and skill." Chloe confidently brushes the hand aside and prepares to leave the library.

Before she does, though. She sends one last glare at Adrien.

"I'll tell you again. You better not get in my way during the tournament. I don't need to be wasting my time picking up your slack. If you cause me to lose, I'll give you problems." Chloe warns before leaving.

Adrien gulps while Max stands up and quietly heads to the library exit.

"Max." Kim starts worriedly as he and Alix look at their sad friend.

"Can you guys leave me alone? Sorry, I want to be by myself. I have some homework I was planning to finish after winning the competition anyway." Max laughs to his friends before walking off as Alix and Kim give him worried and sad looks.

Later, during his walk, Max's feelings catch up with the rest of him, and tears of frustration build in his eyes.

"It's not possible. I was conscious of school announcements and saw the notification for the tournament an hour after it went up online. I practiced for it repeatedly. It was my destiny to play in that tournament. Not only did I train. Public opinion was always on my side. Several studies have proven how important the audience is due to how they can manipulate a person's morale. Chloe was clearly the enemy, and yet she still played perfectly." Max rambles as he tries to figure out how he lost so one-sidedly.

As he rambles, someone takes notice of his growing feelings of frustration, jealousy, and anger.

"Poor young man. Faced with the reality that the effort you put in and a favorable environment isn't always enough to give you a win. I know that feeling all too well." Hawkmoth says with a sorrowful expression before smiling.

"I'll help you gain some semblance of peace by giving you the power to live out something better than your dream," Hawkmoth says as he creates a butterfly and sends it after Max.

It soon gets close to Max while he's sitting on a bench, looking over his glasses. The glasses seem to have a line of coding on them that looks like game combos. Max is so engrossed in inspecting this that he doesn't notice the butterfly until it's too late.

"I'm glad you could join the party, Gamer. I have a far more interesting quest for you than simply being in a gaming tournament. It's simple. Take the powers I have given you and grow stronger to bring me the Miraculous of Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Canine. Will you accept?" Hawkmoth asks in a soothing and welcoming tone.

"Game on." Max grins as he accepts the butterfly under its corruptive influence.

The black smoke then envelops him.

With Adrien and Nino, they're heading back to Agreste Mansion while talking about the tournament.

"I can't believe Chloe crushed Max like that. I thought for sure it'd be you and him representing us. Sorry, you've got to deal with her as a partner now, dude." Nino tells his friend with a sympathetic expression.

"I know. I'm freaking out because I don't know how I won't get in her way. You saw how she destroyed Max. She's literally on another level." Adrien tells him in an anxious tone.

"You'll figure something out. Besides, I'm sure she's joking with the threat. I mean, I doubt your dad would put up with you getting bullied if he's so protective of you." Nino tries to calm him.

Adrien pauses when he hears that and seems to calm down slightly. However, new thoughts of Andrè's bakery shutting down because of his daughter caused him to winch.

"Please don't let Father do that. I really don't want any more problems while dealing with Hawkmoth." He begs the world in his mind.

In response, the two hear people screaming and turn toward it to see a floating black pyramid with a singular green eye hovering down the street while firing a green beam at anyone or anything it can. The people or objects hit turn into green orbs before getting absorbed into the pyramid.

"Oh, come on!" Adrien complains when he sees the pyramid coming toward them.

Next Chapter

[dr-paint]

do you have it in you to make it epic?

[souvenir116]

what made me fall in love with racing is Max competition

thank you @weegreenbean for the vid <3

[diioonysus]

me when i have to work to make money & live

[scuderiamint]

something about pretty men with pretty eyes