3rd POV
"I just don't get it!" Jacques fumed as he, Stella and Bridgette sat at their usual picnic table for their lunch. He glared across the lunch area at the back of Aisling's head as she sat next to Henri with her head on his shoulder and her arms clinging to his left arm as they sat at the table across from them.
"She seems to genuinely like him, what's not to get?" Bridgette asked a a slightly jealous edge to her tone. However this edge went unnoticed by Jacques as he continued his rant.
"'What's not to get?!?! I'll tell you what's not to get, not even a day ago Aisling was turning Henri down as vehemently as she would Monarch and now she's suddenly so blindly in love that she can't even be bothered to hang out with us at lunch? I mean I literally went to talk to her about the meeting we'd set up a week ago to hang out at our usual place and she not only blew me off but basically told me to go jump in the Seines before talking to her about it again because, and I quote, 'she couldn't possibly be caught cheating on Henri with someone who's barely second rate'! I mean she literally told me to get lost because she'd gotten an upgrade as if we were dating and she'd found a better option! That's completely unlike her! I mean she of all people knows that we aren't dating! Not to mention she's never been the type to get all lovestruck like this, I mean it's like she's a completely different person all of a sudden!" Jacques ranted, missing the slight flinch from Bridgette at the mention of his and Aisling's plans. Stella however caught the hurt look in her best friend's eyes and decided to cut him off.
"Look I agree that the circumstances are strange but maybe she's just had a change of heart, and who's to say that she's not just in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, this'll probably just blow over and she'll be back to normal by the end of the week." Stella said appeasingly Jacques just huffed and went back to skewering his salad.

Unfortunately, and much to Jacques' chagrin, Aisling's odd behavior only intensified throughout the week. By the time it was time for the three of them to go to their tutoring session for the week she was practically glued to Henri's arm while he wore a charming grin. Jacques looked at the two of them with an almost tortured expression as he and Stella discussed how to get Aisling to join them at tutoring.
"Look it pains me to say this but you should probably be the one to talk to her, she basically can't stand the sight of me at this point. She might actually listen to you though, in the meantime I'm going to go ahead to tutoring, she'll probably trust you more if I'm not here." Jacques said as he watched Aisling kiss Henri's cheek. Stella frowned but nodded softly and Jacques turned around and started walking off to the tutoring center.

Jacques was sitting at a small table, actually doing some homework since Marinette was insisting that training shouldn't start until the entire team was present, when Stella burst into the room with a panicked expression and slammed her left hand onto the table.
"We need to stage an intervention right BLOODY NOW!" She exclaimed, her eyes wild and frantic. Jacques jumped at the outburst and stood immediately, terrified of whatever had happened to his belo-er-best friend.
"Why what hap-?!" He broke off staring in abject horror as Stella opened her right hand to reveal a small, familiar ring. Jacques' brain went utterly blank as he stared blankly into her shaking palm, because lying in Stella's palm was a small black ring with a green paw print emblazoned on it, a ring that had just that morning been placed firmly on Aisling's left hand.

As Jacques blue-screened Marinette, Adrien and Miss Bourgeois came bursting into the room demanding to know what the commotion was about. They all froze when they saw the ring in Stella's hand, a ring that his eyes were still fixed on. He found himself shaking slightly and wondering if breathing had always been this hard as flashbacks to his first days as a hero flooded his mind. I can't do this without her..... he thought, pain flooding his mind as the pain in his chest intensified. I thought you said you weren't going to leave again....
"Okay Stella you need to explain what happened with Aisling." Marinette said as she glared at the ring, oblivious to her protege's anxiety attack.
"After Jacques went ahead of me and came here first I went over to Aisling and Henri to get her to come with me for training and Henri said that she wouldn't be coming anymore because they'd be hanging out together from now on. Then Aisling just nodded and handed me the ring saying that Henri thought it looked ugly so she didn't want it anymore." Stella explained, coming down slightly from her panic as she noticed Jacques' distant stare. Marinette frowned and nodded, seeming to understand.
"Was there anything else you noticed? Anything strange about Aisling?" She asked and Stella paused.
"I mean other than the fact that she got rid of her miraculous and letting Henri speak for her.... Wait yes! She had this weird kinda pink glaze over her eyes."

Jacques' head snapped up at her words his numbness being replaced all at once by a conflagration of rage.
"Did you say her eyes were glazed?" He asked his voice dangerously calm. Stella nodded, a frown beginning to crease her forehead.
"And you said that the glaze was oddly colored?" He asked a little more forcefully as his voice began to betray him. Stella nodded again and asked, "Is that important?" Jacques ignored her and whipped his head over to Marinette who was giving him a knowing look.
"Tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking." He said and she held up a hand.
"I know what you're thinking but we should ask Plagg about it first before jumping to conclusions." She said and Jacques swallowed a growl and nodded. She's right we shouldn't just jump to conclusions.... Even though everything lines up. Marinette took the ring from Stella and Jacques felt something pierce his heart as she walked over to Adrien and offered him the ring.
"Adrien Agreste, I the guardian grant you the Miraculous of Destruction. You are to use it for the greater good and then when this mission is over you are to return it to its rightful owner. Can I trust you?" She asked and Jacques felt a tear growing in his heart as the former Miraculous holder accepted the role once more. As soon as Adrien's hand closed around the ring a burst of green light filled the room and Plagg came racing out and zoomed towards the door.
"Plagg wait!" Adrien called panicked causing the Kwami to freeze in midair. Adrien swore quietly and ran over to Plagg, cradling the little cat in his hands.
"Sorry buddy, but we need you to tell us what happened to Aisling." He said looking contrite. Plagg glared at his old chosen and flew up to be in his face.
"WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT LITTLE BASTARD GOT AKUMATIZED AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN AND BASICALLY HYPNOTIZED MY HOLDER NOW GET OUT OF THE WAY SO I CAN DISINTEGRATE HIM!!!" Plagg yelled his fur visibly bristling and a his hanging from every word as he growled so loudly that his whole body vibrated. In that moment everyone present remembered that the tiny fae floating in front of them was in fact a god of destruction, they also remembered that he was a cat mother ready to protect his kitten at any cost.

As Marinette and Adrien tried to talk the fae down, and hopefully avert the inevitable apocalypse that would happen if he didn't get his rage under control, Jacques saw red. He got AKUMATIZED?! He thought as rage buzzed in his skull. It was so hard for him to take no for an answer that he turned into a supervillain, hid his appearance behind an illusion and HYPNOTIZED MY KITTEN?! His hands clenched and began shaking as he glared a hole into the floor. The growl he'd been withholding reverberated past his clenched teeth and through the red haze of his vision Tikki flew into his field of vision.
"Jacques you need to calm down." He glared at his kwami for half a second before closing his eyes and drawing a long breath.
"You're right I shouldn't let myself lose it like this." He said with a sigh but his rage didn't subside even a little. He looked up at Plagg and said, "Look normally I'm the first one to remind us that Akumas are as much victims as anyone else. So despite the urge to allow Plagg to disintegrate the creep I'm going to give him the chance to explain himself." There was a small collective sigh from the others present, all of whom had been shocked by his uncharacteristic rage.
"That being said," he started and Stella instantly tensed up at the dark tone in his voice as he added, "I'm still going to break his damn jaw for this." Marinette frowned and placed a hand on her protégé's shoulder.
"Jacques I think you should sit this one out, I'll take the Ladybug Miraculous for now and handle this one." She said and Jacques rounded on her in shocked indignation throwing her arm off as he did.
"Why the hell shouldn't I handle this one?! You've never tried to take me out of a fight before, why now?!" He exclaimed. Marinette sighed and said, "Your teammate, your former partner is a victim of this Akuma. In fact it seems like she's the only victim. I'm just not sure that you can be objective about this." Jacques' eyes widened at the statement.
"'Objective'?! Since when does that matter?! Every other time Aisling and I have been separated for one reason or another you don't tell me to be 'Objective' you remind me that she's my partner and that I have to be there for her and that she has to know that I'm always there for her. I mean where was this talk about being 'Objective' when she refused to keep her miraculous in the first place?!" There was a stunned silence as Jacques paused for breath as Marinette and Plagg both looked down and Stella looked at him in shock.
"Where was this talk about being-" he broke off for a second before hoarsely asking, "where was this talk about being 'objective' when Khaos was manipulating and controlling her?" The silence hung heavy in the room as Jacques felt his heart, pierced and bleeding, lie heavy in his chest as memories of that incident rang through his mind like a bad dream.

A long moment passed before Marinette let out a deep sigh and nodded.
"You're right, if I was going to start worrying about that I should have done it a long time ago. That being said I'm still sending Adrien to help you out. You need a black cat." She said finally. Jacques nodded and ignored the burning stare from Stella.
"Chances are that this Akuma is trying to hide his identity so the best way to get him to reveal himself is for Adrien to go out and draw Monarch's attention. Plagg did you see the item that the miraculous landed in?" Jacques asked and the kwami nodded.
"It's in a necklace that he gave Aisling, it's how he got to her in the first place." He said and Jacques felt his jaw tighten again as he felt heat rising up his neck as his rage flared up again.
"Wait how can the Akuma not have the akumitized object?" Stella asked earning confused nods from Adrien and Marinette. Jacques took a calming breath before gritting out, "Sometimes an Akuma's powers will be exclusively attached to an object. This object can be used to essentially possess the person it's given too and control them, it's why Aisling is the only victim, she was the only target." The others' eyes widened and Jacques swallowed his rage once more. Save it for the Akuma. Was his only thought as he and the others transformed and took a black hole to the Pont des Arts where Henri had apparently told Stella they were going.
"Okay here's the plan, Sunder you and-" Ladybird paused, prompting Adrien to introduce his alter ego.
"Serpens Chatus." He said with a grin earning a nod from Ladybird and a wry smile from Sunder.
"Sunder you and Serpens Chatus distract the Akuma while I go and get the necklace from Aisling." Ladybird saidwith a serious scowl. Serpens Chatus spoke up and asked, "How do you intend to get the necklace away from her? If she's really under the Akuma's spell then wouldn't she be resistant to being separated from the object?" Ladybird nodded.
"We've had a few encounters with Akuma like this. If we can get the Akuma away from the object and separate them then the spell will weaken enough to give the victim some clarity and control. If I can talk her out of it even a little she might be willing to hand it over, and if not then she might at least not fight as rabidly. There's..... also a secondary power I could use but.... I really don't want to have to." Ladybird explained with a sad, distant look earning a silent nod from his teammates.

Serpens Chatus went ahead but before Ladybird and Sunder could separate Ladybird felt her grab his forearm.
"We need to talk about this before you go to get the item." Sunder said with a serious look.
"What's there to talk about? We separate the Akuma from Aisling, I try to talk some sense into her, I get the necklace, break it, and possibly deck the creep if he tries to interfere." Ladybird said with an air of seriousness that made Sunder frown as it was entirely devoid of his usual humor.
"We need to talk about your motivations in this fight. Are you trying to save Aisling because she's an Akuma victim or because she's Aisling?" She asked and Ladybird frowned.
"I mean.... Both?" He asked, not sure what she was asking. Sunder nodded once before asking, "And do you want to 'deck' the Akuma because he's an Akuma who's controlling someone or because he's controlling Aisling specifically?" Ladybird frowned again but paused. I hate this kind of Akuma, sure but.... The thought of Aisling.... My kitten, my partner, my bel- my best friend being controlled like this..... I can't lie and say that it doesn't make me angrier than normal. He thought, his scowl deepening.
"Because it's Aisling..." He murmured through pursed lips. Once again Sunder just nodded and Ladybird felt annoyance bubbling up inside him.
"Okay and finally, were you angry with Henri and the way Aisling was acting because you suspected something or because you were jealous?" The question hit Ladybird like an icy wave. He sat utterly frozen, feeling almost entirely numb except for a deep dull ache in his chest. Jealous? The word left his mind frozen and skipping like a scratch on a record. Me jealous of Henri? Because Aisling was...... his thoughts trailed off as he went back through all of Aisling's actions throughout the week. He noticed that with his reminiscing the pain in his chest increased slightly, as though every beat of his heart was driving a stake further into it. Jealous...... Jacques felt like he was stepping into dangerous territory, like if he kept asking himself the question he would learn something he didn't want to know. Ladybird shook his head and shook her hand off.
"Something was up, I could see it. Now let's stop being distracted by superficial details and stupid questions and just focus on the task at hand." He said before swinging off the roof and joining Serpens who was fighting against Henri who had dropped his illusion and looked like he was dressed in a Prince Charming costume from a children's book. Oh you've got to be kidding me. Ladybird thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Stay back my love! I don't want you to get hurt!" Prince Charmless declared and Aisling nodded meekly and moved to step back. Feeling his rage flaring up again Ladybird called, "I can help with that!" He wrapped an arm around Aisling's waist and swung them both in the direction of a relatively distant roof. He took her as far as he could, trying to ignore her attacks and insults and the pangs he felt with every single punch, kick, and word, as he dragged her away. He swallowed passed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat and landed them on a roof once her attacks began to weaken. Ladybird moved to release her waist from his grip but quickly moved to catch her as she swayed dizzily.
"Hey, whoa there Ash, you okay?" He asked as she placed a hand against her forehead.
"I was fine before you came out of nowhere and grabbed me you pox!" She yelled dazedly as she glared at him with unfocused eyes and weakly tried to push him away. Ladybird allowed himself to flinch at the insult. He had heard her use the word in the past to describe Plagg but she had never said it with so much venom before. Tears prickled at the backs of his eyes as Ladybird grabbed Aisling's face in his gloved hands and made her look him in the eye.
"Lucky, I know you're in there. I'm not sure if I got you far enough away for the spell to have weakened enough but I need you to take off the necklace." He pleaded. Aisling continued to glare at him for a moment but began to blink rapidly and placed a hand against her head.
"W-why would I....?" She weakly mumbled as she started to sway slightly. Ladybird cupped her face and looked her in the eye.
"Because it's an akumatized object, you aren't in love with Henri you're being controlled." He said urgently searching her face for signs of recognition. Aisling blinked again and began to sway even more.
"N-no... th-that's not..." she groaned and placed a hand to her forehead.
"Yes it is! Aisling, Lucky, please remember what happened before you supposedly fell in love with him, he asked you out, you told him no. You're being charmed kitten, please, please wake up." Ladybird begged his voice breaking as tears spilling over his mask. Aisling shook her head and stumbled into him. Ladybird held her and lowered both of them onto their knees.
"Please A ghrá, please come back." He whispered into her ear as she leaned, half collapsed onto his shoulder. A beat passed and Aisling leaned back rubbing her forehead. Ladybird kept a loose grip on her shoulders and searched her face as she looked up at him, her eyes still dazed but seemingly clear.
"I should have Cataclysmed him back in the theater." She groaned and Ladybird's fav broke into a grin as he pulled her into a tight hug. Without thinking he kissed her temple and murmured, "It's good to have you back Kitten." Aisling buried her face in his shoulder as she hid her blush from the sudden action.
"Goof to fe back..." She muttered, not bothered by the fact that her voice was muffled by the fabric. She quickly extradited herself from his embrace and stood, trying to unclasp the necklace.
"Urgh! Why'd it have te be a lobster clasp?! It's an Ogeous handling enough to try and keep my wits about me wit te damn ting on! Not te mention I'm pulling a damn Beamer over here wit everyting tats happened! I feel like a right eejit!" She swore as she fumbled behind her with the clasp. Ladybird chuckled and asked, "Do you want me to help you?" She looked over at him, her black hair falling in her face and nodded gratefully. Ladybird gently shifted her hands out of the way and grabbed the chain. Silently he admonished himself for the bolts of electricity he felt shooting through his ungloved fingers as they occasionally brushed against her neck. After a long, silent moment he got it off and stepped back, away from her.
"Would you like to do the honors or should I?" He asked, the first smile he'd worn in a week never leaving his face. Aisling reached for the necklace, prepared to dash it onto the roof, when a voice cried out, "Get away from her!" Aisling froze and Ladybird growled. He placed the necklace in a pouch on his utility belt and shot a nod to Aisling to get to safety before turning to Prince Charmless as he landed on the roof.
"Look buddy, I know rejection hurts, really I do. And I can't blame you for being upset about it but piece of advice? NO MEANS NO!" Ladybird said before driving his fist into the Akuma's face. The Akuma went head over heels backwards before laying on his back, utterly stunned from the strike.

Sunder and Serpens Chatus soon landed on the roof and looked between the stunned Akuma and Ladybird as he shook out his hand and shared an impressed look. Ladybird looked up from the hand he was cradling and said, "What? I said I was gonna deck him." The two shrugged their shoulders before a sly grin made its way onto Sunder's face and Serpens tried to suppress laughter.
"What?" Ladybird asked again before jumping about a foot into the air as Aisling asked, "Didja now? How noble." There was a moment of incoherent mumbling from Ladybird before he just handed Aisling the necklace and said, "Just....destroy that thing already so we can go home." Aisling chuckled and called out to the Akuma.
"Oi! Prince Charmless as the man said, 'noe means noe!" And as the Akuma watched, admittedly heart stricken, she dashed the necklace into the roof and ground it in with her foot. She smiled at the satisfying snapping feeling from the object as the necklace broke.

After Ladybird purified the Akuma, and Aisling tore Henri a new one for his actions and gave a well deserved lecture on boundaries, Sunder brought Henri back home so that he could discuss the issue of him missing a week of school because he was a mind controlled supervillain the whole time and now needed to catch up. Once it was just the three of them Aisling zoomed up to Serpens and began exclaiming about how cool he looked. It was only then that Ladybird realized that he'd been so busy feeling angry that Aisling had been targeted by an Akuma that he hadn't even noticed what noticed what Serpens looked like. He was mostly black with yellow markings covering his body, including his ears and serpentine tail. He had yellow-green eyes with slit pupils and when he smiled it was clear that he had fangs. His blonde hair, which was generally unkempt enough, was wild and looked a bit like a mane. However as genuinely resplendent as he looked Ladybird instead found himself not staring at the superhero before him but rather at the girl in his old red leather jacket and wondering if the Akuma's spell was strong enough to make her forsake her miraculous then why the hell was she still wearing it? And for some reason that question made him smile.

A few weeks later Aisling was sitting at the usual table with Stella and Bridgette.
"Anyone seen our man Jacques? Lunch is almost over and he's still not here yet, usually he's the first done!" Aisling said glancing between her two friends they shrugged before Bridgette pointed and said, "Oh there he is!" Jacques came jogging over with his lunch in one hand and a small brown box in the other.
"Sorry I'm late, I was walking back from the sandwich shop and I saw something in a store window." He said, clearly out of breath as he collapsed onto the bench.
"Ooh what is it?" Bridgette asked her green eyes sparking with curiosity. Jacques coughed into his hand and slid the brown box over to Aisling.
"I saw it in the window and I thought of you. I um... it occurred to me that I never really um... you know congratulated you for winning the talent contest thing so I'm.. well I'm doing it now, congrats and um... I hope you like it." He said internally wincing at every "um" and rambling word. Jacques quickly turned to eat his sandwich so that he wouldn't see Aisling's reaction in case she hated the gift but kept her in his peripheral in case she liked it. Lying in the box was a simple gold chain with a four leaf clover hanging from it. Aisling gasped and Jacques stiffened, ready to bolt if need be before relaxing as she looked at him and said, "It's perfect! My own good luck charm." Jacques felt a slow grin make its way onto his face and he nodded.
"I hoped you'd like it, want help putting it on?" He said and told her to turn around when she nodded.
"I um... I remembered how much you hate lobster clasps so I made sure that this didn't have one." He mumbled, this time barely ignoring the shocks that were running up his fingers. Aisling just nodded and mumbled a thanks before turning around and showing the necklace to the others. Stella smiled and squeezed Bridgette's hand under the table as they complimented the piece. Neither Jacques nor Aisling noticed the hoarse edge to Bridgette's voice as she stated, "It's lovely."