Chapter 1

Chloe Bourgeois was your typical snobby rich girl. She had perfect hair, perfect dress, and she always got what she wanted. Well, she nearly always got what she wanted. There was always one girl who stood in her way. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Just thinking the name brought a scowl to Chloe's face. She couldn't stand the girl. Always so smiley and clumsy. It made her want to barf.

At that particular moment, Chloe was making her way outside, seeing as the school day had just ended. With Sabrina on her tail, she searched for the one she called her boyfriend. It didn't matter if the model himself didn't agree with the title, because in the end, it was inevitable.

After turning a corner, Chloe spotted the boy and nearly ran straight to him. But something stopped her. Marinette. Adrien was talking to the girl with a goofy smile on his face. It was absolutely adorable, and not being the one to receive that smile made her furious.

"Adrikins!" She cooed. "I need to talk to you!" The boy gave Marinette an apologetic smile as he headed Chloe's way. It took all of her willpower to keep a calm demeanor for Adrien's sake. Though, in Sabrina's opinion, that probably wouldn't last long. Chloe briskly waved Sabrina away though so she could focus all of her attention on Adrien.

"Hey Adrikins, are you going to the city hall meeting with Gabriel? My father's making me go, and it would be just awful if I had to sit through that boring meeting all on my own." Chloe made sure to blink quickly in what she thought was a cute manner while she waited for her answer of what would of course be yes.

"Oh, I totally forgot about that Chloe. I'm, uhh, really sorry, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it out there."

"Oh. I understand. You forgot. It's not like you've forgotten anything else before. But now that I think about it, you have. Remember last month when you 'forgot' about that play I invited you to? Of course not, but what about last week, when you 'forgot' about my birthday party? And what about that ball a few days ago that you supposedly 'forgot' to attend? Yeah, yeah that's completely natural, it could happen to anyone."

"Chloe I-"

"Bup-bup-bup. Oh Adrien, I don't think you've really been forgetting anything. Honestly, someone of your stature can't afford to. My guess is that you've been avoiding me. Ha, you have, haven't you. I've seen you hanging out with those losers, those nobodies. Adrien you can't be seen with people like them. It's bad for your image for goodness sake. That Marinette for example, she's nothing more than the baker's daughter, she's-"

"Chloe please stop."

"But you can't deny it Adrien, it's all true. They won't mean anything once you're as famous as your father. I mean, Nino and Alya might make it somewhere decent, but Marinette, psshh, she's got no chance."

"Chloe, I really want you to stop. If you keep bashing my friends like this I'm just gonna have to leave."

"Okay, okay, you just need to understand that being friends with Marinette will get you nowhere-"

"Chloe stop! I can't have you saying that about Marinette! She's done more for me than you ever could, and just by being my friend! Now stop saying that stuff about her, please."

Chloe blinked. She hadn't been expecting that answer. It was true the girl had suspected for some time that Adrien's 'I forgot' excuses were just a cover up for hanging out with Marinette, but she hadn't really believed it. But this moment confirmed it. And Chloe couldn't stand it. If Adrien was just going to forget all about her, then how'd he feel about his precious Marinette forgetting every little detail about him. Heck, what if she just forgot everything in one go. The thought brought a grin to her face that was starting to scare the young model. And it should. If Chloe couldn't have Adrien, then no one would.

The moment that Chloe felt the touch of a black butterfly on her hand, she embraced it. She let the pure evil take its place in a pitch black ring placed upon her ring finger, and she felt fantastically evil. The look on Adrien's face was shocked to say the least, and Chloe loved it. She would make him fear her, while everyone around him forgot everything about him. She smirked at the boy and gave him one final message before running off.

"Seems like you've been forgetting me a lot lately. Ever wonder what it would be like to be forgotten Adrien? Well, let me show you."

Marinette's walk home was usually taken in solitude. But today, Alya had joined so the two could work on math homework together. However, math was the last thing on the two girls minds.

"Oh my gosh Mari, did you see how Adrien looked at you today!"

"He talked to me Alya. He talked to me."

"Yes, but did you see his face?!"

"W-what, no. Alya I was about to faint, we were so close."

"You were three feet away from him."

"Exactly!" Alya sighed and gave her friend a knowing smile. It was nice to see the designer so happy, and even nicer that Adrien was the cause of it.

"Sooo, what'd he want to talk to you about girl?" Marinette's mind went blank.

"Uhh, I-i don't know. I forgot…Heh heh..."

"You forgot?! Oh, what a shame!" Marinette whipped around at the sound of her rival's voice, yet she was stunned to see not Chloe, but an akuma standing before her. However, at closer inspection, Mari could see that it was indeed Chloe, though she looked vastly different. The fashionista's ponytail, which was usually tucked neatly into place, now showed signs of coming undone and hung wildly in the air by some unknown force. Though the hair itself took on an even more garish shade of the golden yellow than it usually was. Her arms were bare, except for a glove on each hand that looked to be made of diamonds, and the fingertips were sharpened to take the form of claws. She also wore a pale yellow tank top/capri-shorts combo with a golden band on her waist. Her boots also looked to be made of diamonds, and matched the gloves she wore. They reached up to her knees, and the heels looked to be twice as sharp as the gloves she wore. But the most terrifying part of the akuma, was the mischievous grin plastering her face, with a look more evil than Hawk Moth's.

"Chloe, I think you need to calm down. You're better than this (sometimes). Chloe don't liste-"

"AAAHhahahhahhaa! I'm not Chloe you fool! Chloe's gone, but go ahead, reach out to her. Just waste your precious time. Forget-Me-Not is all whose left!"

By now, Marinette wasn't paying attention to the akumized girl. Her top priority was getting Alya to safety so she would be free to transform. She needed to stop Chloe before things got worse than they already were. The three of them were only a couple blocks from Marinette's house, so if she could get Alya there safely, then Marinette would certainly be able to transform somewhere discreet. But Marinette would never have had time to act on her plan. In fact, she wouldn't even remember it.

Just as the girl was about to push Alya in the direction of the bakery, she felt a sharp pain hit both her ring fingers at once. She clutched her hands to her chest and sank to the ground with a concerned Alya by her side in seconds. The two were so focused on themselves, that they never saw the smirk pass over Forget-Me-Not's face as she left the area.

"Marinette, are you okay?!"

"W-who's Marinette?"

'Nino. Need help, start walking to Mari's house. Hurry.'

"What's that, what are you doing?" Marinette's blank, curious eyes looked up at Alya from behind her phone.

"I'm texting Nino, our friend. You need help Mari."

"Why do I need help? Is something wrong with me?" Alya sighed and let her face fall into her hands. These questions were getting tiresome.

"Yes, but we're gonna fix it. You're going to be fine. Ladybug will help us."

"Ladybug?"

"ARaaahghrgh. Yes. Ladybug. She's a superhero and totally boss. Now no more questions, you'll remember everything after Ladybug deals with Chloe, er, Forget-Me-Not." When Marinette stayed silent, Alya let herself relax. Though she seemed annoyed at the repeated questioning, in reality, she was terrified. Her best friend had lost all recollection of who she was. The girl didn't know about Ladybug and Cat Noir, she didn't know how to design clothes, she didn't remember her best friend, and she had no idea who Adrien was. The latter was probably the most shocking of them all. Marinette without her Adrien obsessed phase just wasn't Marinette.

One other thing that had been bugging Alya, was the ring of color at the base of Mari's ring finger. From a distance, it looked like a simple black line, circling the finger and somehow trapping it. But at closer inspection, Alya had seen tiny, delicate swirls and loops that made up the band. What was most curious though, was that the designs were moving. The ring looked like a dark, magical aura, plastered to the girl's skin while slowly sliding along it. She figured it was some mark left by the akuma to signify the mind wipe. But seeing as she couldn't do anything about it, she let the thought slide and focused more on Marinette.

Alya just didn't know how to cope with the responsibility of a mindless doll inhabiting her friend's body. She had kept up a somewhat alright attitude for now, but once Nino arrived, she was afraid she would break down. Her only hope was for Ladybug to fix everything. But what she didn't know, was that Ladybug didn't know who she was. The heroine didn't remember.

Nino arrived only five minutes after receiving the text. He was panting and sweating, but Alya was grateful nonetheless. As he surveyed the scene, he could see nothing wrong. Alya and Marinette did happen to be sitting on the ground, but they appeared unscathed, so Nino was confused as to why he was there.

"Yo Alya, what's wrong? What'd you need help with?" Alya cringed and looked away from Nino. She was still stunned from their encounter with Chloe, and looking at Nino only made her want to break down even more. She started to debate whether bringing him here was a good idea in the first place.

"It's kinda...complicated. Let's just say you won't want to forget it…" Nino could tell that something was up. Alya was avoiding eye contact, which only happened when she was upset. And Marinette was staring off blankly at nothingness. Though that could be seen as normal Marinette behavior, Nino could see a sort of distance in her sea blue eyes that was unmistakably wrong.

Nino knew he had to do something. He wanted to be there for Alya like a real friend, to help the two out somehow. So, he promptly sat down across from his complicated friends and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on Alya knee.

"You can tell me Alya, I just want to help." Alya turned to Nino with tears forming in her eyes. She stared at her friend with a wide range of emotions and thoughts running through her mind. She nearly gave in to those feeling once Marinette spoke.

"I don't know what this is about, but you should tell him. He seems really nice. Umm, is he your friend?" Nino's eyes went wide. He was even more confused than when he first arrived. All he knew was that Mari didn't know who he was.

"Alya, please. Why doesn't Mari know me?"

That was when Alya gave in. She explained everything she could to her curious friend. She told him how Mari had spoken to Adrien earlier and what had happened when the akumized Chloe arrived. She greatly elaborated how after being hit by Chloe's power, Marinette had forgotten absolutely everything. It didn't take long for Nino to understand their situation, so 10 minutes later the three were sitting in silence, contemplating what to do next.

"So Alya, what do we do now?"

"I don't know… I guess we just wait. Wait for Ladybug to fix this." So that's what they did. They waited. Sitting on the sidewalk for nearly an hour before they grew inpatient. Nino and Alya had answered some of Marinette's random questions, but they mostly waited in silence, thinking the next minute would be the one to fix everything. But nothing happened. Nothing came. Alya could watch footage of Forget-Me-Not's other disastrous deeds through her phone, but Ladybug never showed up. Cat Noir had appeared almost immediately, looking a bit disheveled, but still fighting nonetheless. His battle was well fought, but without Ladybug he didn't have a chance. It was miserable to watch. Alya wanted, no needed Ladybug to fix this. She needed her friend back.

"ARRGH! Where is Ladybug?!"

Alya turned to Marinette, hoping to receive answers. To somehow get help from her forgetful friend. But then she noticed a flash of red. And then that red took shape. The shape of a small, fairy-like figure, covered in large, black dots. It opened a pair of wide, yet sad eyes, looking at Alya with concern written on the creature's face. And then it spoke, in the most quiet, sweet voice Alya had ever heard.

"L-ladybug, Ladybug is right here…"