[woop woop guys here u go chapter 3]

Chapter 3

"What do you mean she'll be back? We did it, right?

Cat groaned and held his face in his hands, pacing back and forth, getting more and more agitated with each step. "No we didn't do it! This is exactly what happened last time. Oh how did we fix it then? Uggh! I can't remember!"

"Uh dude? You okay?" Nino stepped forward, holding his hand out with concern in his eyes. But before the new hero could even tough the cat, he batted the hand away and nearly growled at the boy.

Ladybug shrank back. He honestly didn't understand what had gone wrong. He swore they had done it all right. It seemed to have gone down the way he had seen the real LB do it on the Ladybug. Was he missing something? "Yo uh, what's up?"

"What's up?!" He hissed. "You're what's up. Don't you understand how bad this is?!" Ladybug shook his head. "Its awful! You let the akuma-t-the butterfly-get away! You can't let it escape without purifying it of the evil inside! If it isn't purified, then the battle isn't over. That akuma will go off and multiply, we won't be able to stop it. Hundreds of Forget-Me-Nots could be over the town in just a few hours! And worst of all, Chloe's probably gonna turn back again if not some other innocent civilian! Not only will we have to fight it again, but it's going to be even harder than before! And you! Uggh I can't believe this, it's all your fault!"

Wide-eyed, the DJ took a step back, holding his hands up in defense. He felt awful. Nino knew he had totally screwed up. He could see that through Cat's burning rage. It was just, just so stupid of him! He hadn't even thought to 'purify the akuma'. And even if he had, he had no idea how to do it! Nino could have sworn Tikki said something about that before, but he was so nervous that he must not have heard. Ugh he felt so dumb! All he needed to do was take the evil out or something. That wasn't so hard! And he couldn't even manage that! Uggggh. And Cat didn't' really help much. He looked terrifying. The guy was furious, that was clear. He really didn't feel safe around him anymore. The dude needs Ladybug, he thought. She could definitely calm him down. But wait… Would Marinete have her memory back yet? They had gotten Chloe to be unakumized or whatever. Maybe that reversed the memory wipe thing! Wow, that would be just great! LB could fix everything. But… there was always the possibility that she was still completely helpless.

Instead of dwelling on the subject, Nino opened his mouth to address the hero with this question, but the cat was still so furious at him that Nino didn't dare say a word. He figured it'd be better for him to just not speak at all right now. But still, even though he screwed up big time, and he absolutely hated that, someone needed to think logically and take charge. And he might need to be that someone. He looked over to see Cat's tail swishing back and forth angrily. He was tapping his foot repeatedly and softly muttering things to himself.

Nino was sure he would get clawed for this, but someone really needed to take charge.

"H-hey Cat N-"

"WHAT?"

Nino flinched and stepped back. "I know you're mad and all, and I totally messed things up so I deserve it, but we can still at least try to fix this? Right bro?"

"Don't call me bro." The cat turned again, seemingly determined to hold a grudge. Though he still seemed slightly intrigued by what his 'partner' had to say. "But you're right. Any ideas?"

It sounded like it pained the hero to say this, and it only made Nino feel even worse, but he figured he needed to say something. "Uhh, yeah so...maybe we could, you know, protect Chloe or something. That way she doesn't go bad again, or if she does we'll be right there to stop her."

Cat Noir turned, seeming to be considering the idea up until his face fell and he gasped.

Nino turned as well, confused until he saw their battle site to be completely deserted, Chloe was gone.

"Where is she?!" Cat was nearly screaming by now.

Nino tentatively held out his hand, trying to calm the deranged hero down a bit.

"I don't know, she's just…gone. But we could always go check on LB, uhh I mean your LB of course, she might remember something by by now-"

Cat's eyes suddenly lit up, It seemed as if he'd forgotten all about his grudge against the new hero, but Nino could still see the tenseness in the hero's shoulders. They weren't done with this yet.

"Where is she?" Nino blanked. It took him a few seconds to realize he now meant Marinete, and not Chloe.

"Uhhh."

Cat waiting intently for the new LB to speak, to say something, anything. But Nino wasn't so sure. If he told him where the real LB was, then he would basically be telling him where Marinette was, and he had a feeling she wasn't ready to give up her secret identity to her partner, even if she had no idea she was doing it.

"Can't really tell you that...sorry bro."

The hero's eyes shot up in surprise and possibly a bit of rage. He clearly didn't like that answer. "What do you mean you can't tell me? You just suggested we go check up on her, how are we gonna do that if I don't know where she is?"

"Woahhhhh there. Okay dude, seeing as I'm in her costume, if you go and see her, well...uhh...I think you get it."

"Oh." Cat looked down. He clearly had gotten it. Not at first but, this dude clearly wanted to protect LB's identity. That was good. Even if he desperately wished it wasn't. It meant he was a friend. But man, he'd really put the dude down. He really needed to calm down. This guy wasn't Ladybug but he was trying to help. He was doing all that he could and wow he was being a jerk.

Cat sighed and took a deep breath to calm himself. He was overreacting and he needed to man up and get the job done. This dude was right. Chloe was gone so they needed to find the real Ladybug. The new Ladybug could do that. Ugh he really didn't know what to call the guy. He looked like LB, but it just felt wrong to use her name for someone else. It just wasn't the same. "Okay I get it, how about you go see how she's doing. I'll stay here and wait. But, uhh… This may sound a bit weird but, is there something else I can call you besides Ladybug? It just feels wrong when it's not really her."

"Oh, oh yeah. Call me Ni-uhh. Ni…" Crap. He really shouldn't be telling this guy his real name. He had no idea who Cat was and Cat didn't need to know who he was. Oh man how do superheroes come up with sweet nicknames on the spot?

Cat Noir looked at the guy, arms crossed with a deadpan look on his face. "You want me to call you Niuhh?"

"No no no." Okay, time to come up with a sweet name. "How about Ni Jay. You know cause it sounds like DJ."

Wow. That sounded like crap. At least he didn't spurt out Gentlebug or Manlybug or something. Oh gosh those all sounded awful.

The hero across from him held back a confused chuckle. "I'm just gonna call you DJ."

Nino ran as fast as he could to where he had last seen Mari and Alya. He had nearly used the yoyo again to get there, but seeing as the last time he used it ended in disaster, he'd rather not risk it.

It only took him a few minutes, and he found it surprisingly easier to run with the suit still on. Just as he rounded the last corner, Nino swore he saw a flash of blonde to the side, but after looking around for a second he continued onward and shrugged it off.

Mari and Alya were still where he had left them. Alya was leaning against a stone wall and she was holding the confused Marinette to her like the girl was a stuffed animal or something. Alya looked exhausted, though she seemed to be back to normal for the most part. But Marinette still had that dull look in her eyes, so Nino was already fearing for the worst. He slowed down as he neared the two girls and stopped just a few feet away from them. Alya looked up gratefully at his approach even though she still appeared to be extremely tired.

"Hey Als, does Mari remember anything yet?"

Alya's face fell and she looked away. Guess not. Well then he was screwed. "A-are you sure?" He asked. "Anything at all? Mari?"

The doll-like girl turned her head at her name but shook her head sadly. Apparently she knew enough to know that she was helpless at the moment, but that wasn't enough for her to be Ladybug.

Ugggh. Nino couldn't believe this. Mari was still just as brain dead as earlier if not even more so! He had really been counting on Mari to miraculously remember everything or at least enough to perform as Ladybug, but that wish was clearly made in vain. He was so screwed. He'd already made a mess of things earlier and he was sure to only make it worse later. Like, how was he even supposed to purify the butterfly? Did he like will it to be pure or did he squash the evil out of it or-or what? Uggggh he really needed someone to help who wasn't super ticked at him. Cat seemed to be acting somewhat reasonable right before he left, but the dude still didn't trust him. And man that mess up with a nickname was awful. He really needed pun lessons from Adrien or something.

On second thought he really didn't need more puns in his life. But it looked like he wasn't much help around here…

Before anyone could protest. Nino helped the two girls up with a quiet comment to Marinette on how Cat really need his Ladybug right now, and walked them a block to the Dupain Cheng bakery. All three were pretty much silent by now. Most of the town seemed pretty quiet as well. It was pretty eerie, and very disturbing. Nino didn't like it one bit.

When he got his friends to the bakery, Marinette's mom popped out with tears in her eyes and rushed to swoop the two girls into a incredibly relieved hug. But when Marinette didn't recognize her, or respond in any way besides confusion, the woman burst into tears and it seemed she would never let the two go. Nino watched on in despair. He was about to leave when the baker's wife finally noticed him.

She was curious as to why Ladybug was now a man, and he responded by telling her the simple truth. That Ladybug had lost her memory and he was acting in her place. She seemed extremely grateful at this, and didn't catch on to the fact that by Ladybug he meant Marinette. She then explained how her husband Tom had lost his memory as well. That she had been taking care of him the past little while while worrying over her daughter the entire time.

After a brief conversation, Nino was able to leave knowing that his friends were safe for the time being. He rushed back to where he had left Cat Noir, using his yoyo only when he needed to. He made it back to the area to find the hero still pacing. Nino wouldn't be surprised if there was now a groove in the ground where the cat had been walking.

As soon as the black clad hero turned, his eyes widened in anticipation. He ran up to the new hero and waited for an answer.

Nino really hoped he could give him the answer he wanted, but there wasn't really anything else he could do. "Sorry bro…"

Cat clearly seemed to understand. He bowed his head and kicked the ground in frustration.

"Are you sure there's not anything we can do? Maybe I could jog her memory? I mean we've been partners for months, surely there's some way I can help her remember."

Nino shook his head. "No there isn't, and even if you were to try you couldn't do so without discovering her identity. I thought she wanted to keep it secret."

"I know I know, but I just can't do this without her! I know I've been a real jerk to you and honestly I'm really, really sorry about that. I just feel so lost without her, she always knew what to do and now she doesn't and…" He sighed and held his hand up to his face. "Any more ideas?"

Nino jumped when he was suddenly included in this seemingly one way conversation. "Uhh we wait for the akuma to come back and then we beat the crap out of her. You could maybe even teach me a few things before so I can actually fight then."

Cat nodded and swiftly agreed to the arrangement. There really wasn't much else they could do. Cat was sure the akuma wouldn't be back for a while because of his previous encounter with an unpurified akuma, but he couldn't' have been more wrong.

Down at the back of an abandoned alleyway, Chloe Bourgeois sat with her back hunched and her head resting on her quivering knees. She was terrified. But turning into an evil monster did that to you. And what was worse, was that she could remember every second of it. Every second of that darkness. That awful feeling of regret that still lingered in her heart.

She had known something was wrong. The few minutes she had suck stuck around after returning back to normal were where all the wrongness started.

She remembered Cat Noir being there. It was all kind of hazy, but she recalled him arguing with someone wearing Ladybug's outfit. But Chloe had known it wasn't really her. She could tell. Well, besides the fact that this superhero was a guy that is. She also remembered seeing a small black butterfly as it flew into the air and slowly disappeared. Cat Noir had tried to go after it, but the imposter only stood there stupidly and watched. She had cringed when the hero fell and hit the ground with a thump. Just thinking about it made her flinch. But looking back again, she remembered that was when the yelling began.

The two heroes were still arguing at that time, and Cat had appeared to be absolutely furious with the newcomer. He had kept pointing in the direction of the butterfly that had been long gone by now. The two had nearly looked like they were about to start fighting. She really hadn't wanted to get in the middle of it.

Before the heroes had noticed her, Chloe had stood up and walked waveringly to the side. At the time, she had no idea where she was heading. But really, anywhere was better than there.

She had then proceeded to make her way down the streets and alleyways of Paris in a daze. Even now she couldn't recall much of her navigation throughout the city, but that hardly mattered now seeing as where she had ended up.

Before making it to the alleyway where she currently resided, Chloe had found herself heading toward the Dupain Cheng bakery. She hadn't known why this had happened, but she was about a block away and had just turned a corner when she heard footsteps from behind her. Immediately she panicked and slid into a sort of slot in the wall between buildings. It wasn't quite an alley, but it had been wide enough to keep her hidden from the red clad superhero blazing past her.

She remembered being very surprised at this and had just started following the supposed hero when he came to a stop in front of two girls leaning against the stone wall of a building. Chloe had stopped as well, but kept inching forward until she could clearly see the two girls and be able to hear their conversation. But once she had gotten a good look at them, she realized she was looking at Alya and...Marinette. Ugh...

They had talked about not remembering something, probably caused by her now that Chloe thought about it. But it hadn't been until the three were leaving that their conversation really peaked her interest.

The boy dressed in spots had called Marinette Ladybug. Even now, in the alleyway, Chloe was torn up by just the idea of it. It had just been a passing comment, the hero saying that Cat Noir needed...Ladybug. But he was referring to Marinette. Or was he? What if she was just overreacting. Marinette could never be Ladybug. No way.

But it was true, wasn't it?

Deep down she knew it and it only made her angrier. She was losing her Adrien. If Marinette really was Ladybug...well, she couldn't really compete with that now could she. She no longer had a chance with him with a superhero in the mix. Chloe bowed her head. She was done. She wanted to forget.

"I can arrange that for you."

Chloe jumped at the soft, deep voice sounding in her head. And by opening her eyes, she was able to see a familiar pink glimmering at the edge of her vision.

This was it, her chance to forget.