Chapter Eleven: Battlebonds

Lilo POV

Lilo hastily dodged a roundhouse kick from Robin. It was about two weeks after the last lesson from Professor Greene and Robin had been giving him lessons on basic hand to hand, which he really had needed, he was almost useless without his weapons.

It was not going well. He understood the basic principles of it but it was like he had two left feet without his weapons.

They'd been going at it for about an hour at that point and Lilo was exhausted. "Robin, we're not getting anywhere. Can we just take a break?"

Robin groaned. "We're not getting anywhere because you're afraid to fight without your weapons! Clearly you understand the basics but you're afraid to actually put it into practice. Why? Seriously, you need to have a basic foundation of hand to hand just in case you get disarmed, if only to run to your weapon again."

Lilo shuffled his feet uneasily. "I'm not afraid! I'm just not getting it. I understand logically what to do but when I try to actually do it, I fall flat on my face. This stuff is exhausting, it's so much easier with my weapons."

Robin sighed. "Hmm. Maybe we should take a quick break for now." she said, sitting down at a bench at the edge of the sparring arena.

Lilo sat down beside her. "Hey… Robin?"

She turned to him slightly. "Yeah? What is it?"

He fidgeted. "Have you ever… had a crush on someone?"

She blushed slightly. "Unexpected question! But not really, no. I mean, me and Morgan are pretty close and I'm hoping we can get closer. But I'm not sure he feels exactly the same yet and I wouldn't exactly call it a crush. More like… an attraction. At least on my part. Why?"

Lilo turned beet red, his face burning. "Well, I've known Donna since we were two. Fifteen years! And at least ten of those years, I've been feeling something… else. I just don't know if what I'm feeling is just really close friendship or something else."

She shrugged, passing him a bottle of water from her bag. "Well, I'm not sure. You two seem really close for sure but I'm not sure if I'm the best person to ask. Like I said, I've never really had a crush and I've never been in a relationship."

Lilo sighed. "Hmm. Okay."

They sat together for a while, just enjoying each other's company. After their break, they did start the lessons again.

Lilo did actually do better, too. His punches and kicks were much cleaner and he was less clumsy. Of course, Robin still had the edge in power, skill and experience but Lilo was a quick study and adapted swiftly.

Both he and Robin were speed fighters but they differed in how they generated that speed. Robin utilized her geokinesis to propel her at high speeds, launching off of the floor, walls and ceiling. Lilo, however, used his aerokinesis to make himself lighter and faster.

Their clash may not have been as epic as some of the other fights that year but that didn't make it not exciting. Lilo had also asked Robin to teach him how to sense Aura, as he was the only one to not have the ability so far. His grasp on the technique was, as of yet, shaky but he was able to sense the little spikes that indicated when Robin would attack and was able to react accordingly.

He extended his fingers on his right hand and pressed his thumb against his palm, forming a blade shape and slashed multiple times, sending blades of compressed air toward Robin. She ducked and weaved around them and sent small stones at him, rapid fire.

These stones were small and light, though, and easily affected by his Semblance. He thrust his hands forward, unleashing a torrent of air to redirect them back at Robin.

She launched herself back at him and threw a right hook at his face. He moved his head to the side and retaliated with a quick chopping motion to the side of her neck. It didn't do much damage but it did hurt, her scream told him that much.

The two engaged in a flurry of punches and kicks, Lilo leaping and flipping around Robin. She switched tracks and set up a stonewall defense that he couldn't get through.

Robin's usual style was all about speed but when she rooted herself, it was nearly impossible to break.

They sparred for a little while more until both had run out of stamina. They hit the showers and changed back into their uniforms and walked around the courtyard.

Lilo sighed contentedly. "You know, I'm beginning to understand why Morgan likes his afternoon walks around the grounds. The gardens and fountains are rather relaxing. Would still be nice for him to actually study, though, so we don't have to bail him out of tests and such."

Robin chuckled. "Yeah. He isn't stupid, not at all. He's just… different. He can be brutal and ruthless but he's also… innocent of a lot of things. He's actually kind of sweet when you get to know him. He always makes sure we're not completely dead after every training and sparring session and, while he never holds back, he isn't cruel when we're training."

Lilo rolled his eyes and chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Though, I've noticed, he pays special attention to you. Sometimes it seems that the only times you're not attached at the hip are when you guys have to go to the bathroom."

Robin scoffed. "We're not attached at the hip, we're just good friends."

"I don't know. I heard what he said after Fukurou knocked us out of the fight. I didn't get knocked unconscious, unlike you. I just couldn't move worth a damn. He said, and I quote, 'but if you ever hurt my friends again, ever hurt her again'. He was talking about you, Robin." Lilo said.

Robin's pale face flushed slightly. "He… really said that? Huh…"

Lilo was about to reply when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Donna, blushing slightly. "Hey, Lilo."

He nodded. "Hey. what's up?"

Her blush deepened. "C-could I talk to you in private for a bit?"

He glanced at Robin, who nodded. "Sure. What's on your mind?" he asked while the two of them walked out of earshot of Robin.

Donna POV

Donna blushed furiously and could barely think. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how to explain her feelings. Her face felt hot, her heart raced and her stomach had butterflies. She paced as she thought.

She stopped as Lilo grabbed her hand. His soft and gentle touch instantly calmed her down. "Hey, you okay? I haven't seen you this keyed up in years. What's going on?" he asked.

To Donna, Lilo's concerned face was the most beautiful thing she'd seen in her life. She blushed even deeper as her brain misfired left and right. "I think I'm in love with you!" she blurted out before her brain caught up with her mouth.

Lilo's eyes widened in shock and Donna registered what she had just said. "W-wait, I-!"

Her eyes widened as Lilo pulled her down to his height level and kissed her full on the mouth. They stayed like that for a few moments before Lilo pulled away, Donna still rooted to her spot, nearly catatonic.

He started saying something but she couldn't really understand it, she was so dazed. She thought he had mentioned a crush or something, though.

She shook her head to clear it. She interrupted him by placing her hands on his shoulders. "The dorm. Now." she said, voice full of sudden need and wanting.

She dragged him through the halls of the school and ignored his protests. The logical part of her brain was screaming at her to stop whatever this was but that part was quickly getting drowned out by the part that wanted Lilo.

Once they reached the dorm, Donna dragged him into the bedroom and urged him onto her bed. She kissed him this time, her tongue exploring his mouth. She ran a hand through his soft lilac hair while she gripped his arm.

Her static field went haywire, small jolts of electricity played around her fingers and transferred to Lilo.

She pulled away to start to strip out of her clothes but stopped when she saw Lilo's slightly concerned face. "Lilo… are you okay?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you? This is moving really fast. Maybe we should slow down for right now." he urged.

Donna's face fell. "Do… Do you not want this?" she asked, a little hurt.

He smiled softly and put a gentle hand on her cheek. "Of course I do! I said slow down, not stop. But we need to take this sorta stuff slowly. And you're not exactly thinking straight, here. You're not usually this impulsive. We just need to slow down for a minute to think about all this, Donna. Maybe go on a few dates before we head into the intimate stuff. That sound good to you?" he asked.

Donna blushed deeply, her face burning with embarrassment that she had nearly gone so far so quickly on just an impulse. She usually never did anything without thinking it through. She pulled Lilo into a hug and hummed her approval. "Yeah. That sounds good. Can… we stay like this for a little while, though?"

Lilo chuckled and hugged her back. "Of course."

Robin POV

It had been a few days since Donna and Lilo's conversation. Robin didn't know what the two had talked about but Donna was not nearly as high strung as she had been. It seems a good chunk of her stress had been trying to figure out how to confess to Lilo.

They had just gotten out of Port's class and Donna was blushing profusely as she held hands with Lilo, who was looking pleased as punch at the situation.

Morgan leaned down to whisper in Robin's ear. "I don't get it. Those two have been actin' real weird the past few days. What's goin' on?" he asked.

Robin chuckled. "It seems they're 'together together'. About damn time, I say."

Morgan cocked his head to the side. "Huh? What does that mean?"

The ninja girl shook her head and waved him off. "Nevermind, Morgan. Let's just say, they've gotten a bit closer than they were."

Professor Goodwitch's class was mostly uneventful, Morgan sparring with Donna for the millionth time, Lilo sparring with Ranji Narang from Team CHDR and Robin sparring with Priscilla from Team WASP.

Priscilla and Robin were actually at a similar level of power.

Robin blocked a couple of knives thrown by Priscilla. She did that a lot. Robin ran around the arena, looking for an opening in Priscilla's throwing sequences. The ninja girl ducked under another knife and entered hand to hand range.

Robin threw a flurry of slashes with her daggers at Priscilla, who countered with her own knives. The pink haired girl did specialize in long range but she wasn't a slouch if it came down to a hand to hand battle.

Robin side kicked the other girl in the gut, knocking her flying back a few feet.

Priscilla smirked as her pink eyes glowed. She let out a massive yawn and Robin felt herself getting drowsy. But she shook it off and slammed a foot into the ground, raising a large boulder out of it.

The short ninja girl roundhouse kicked the rock and sent it flying toward Priscilla, who tried to dodge it but got a small outcropping snagged part of her dress and dragged her out of the ring, resulting in Robin's win.

"And that's the match! Good job, Miss Tori on the excellent strategy." Professor Goodwitch called out.

A few minutes later, Robin was back in her seat waiting for Professor Goodwitch's closing statements. "Alright, class. You've all improved considerably since the start of the year. It is time for a small trip! Professor Peach needs more sap from the Forever Fall Forest and I believe that you all are ready to take your first group mission. The trip is in a week and the forest is full of powerful Grimm. Please prepare accordingly." she announced.

The class cheered, excited for their first taste of an actual mission. The bell rang and most of the class filed out of the room but Team MRLD stayed behind to talk to Professor Goodwitch about something.

"Yes? What do you four need?" she asked.

Donna showed the professor something on her scroll. "The mercs I've hired have found the location of Blanc's base. It isn't exact but they've managed to narrow it down to an area roughly ten square miles. Grimm activity in that area is off the charts." she said.

The professor took the scroll. "And you're absolutely sure this is where her base is located?" she asked and handed the scroll back.

Donna nodded. "Absolutely. These guys are the best of the best."

Morgan cracked his knuckles. "Alright, so we know where she is. When are we gonna find her and kick her sorry ass?" he growled, grinning ferally.

Professor Goodwitch shook her head and sighed. "You'll have to wait until the first years take their first mission in about a month. I'll be going along as the Huntress you'll have to shadow and we'll have to pretend we're going on a simple Search and Destroy in the general area. There are enough Grimm in the area to justify it." she explained.

Morgan groaned. "Oh, come on! I've been waitin' to fight this bitch for five fuckin' months! I don't wanna wait anymore!" he griped.

Robin chuckled. She really did enjoy his more simple way of thinking.

Professor Goodwitch sighed again. "Well, I do have a meeting with the rest of the staff in a half hour that I need to prepare for. You have the rest of the day to yourselves. Good day, students." she said, walking off.

Donna POV

The tanned heiress was pushing herself to the limit. She'd set over sixty training bots on their maximum setting and powered up to her max. Her movements were little more than a blur as she blocked and dodged all of the bots' attacks.

Her hair, already bright and spiked up in Wrath Mode, momentarily flashed a brighter blue as she strained against the onslaught.

She bellowed as her electric field thundered with energy, her Aura flowing and spiking around her. She let off a massive burst of electrical energy from every part of her body that washed over the sparring arena and fried a good chunk of the bots.

She jumped and flipped about as she hacked and slashed her way through the bots, continually trying to break through her limits. As she took the last one down, her Aura spiked massively for a second, her power rising dramatically but her Aura snapped a second afterward, dropping her back to base form.

She dropped to her hands and knees and started retching and coughing. She clutched her stomach as she tried to keep her lunch in. "F-fuck! I hate it when that happens! I was close to something, too." she growled.

It was a couple days before the trip and Donna was determined to get as strong as was physically possible. And she had definitely gotten stronger since the start of term but it wasn't enough. She had to get much stronger before she'd be satisfied.

She took a break to get some water and a snack to refuel. Like Morgan, she was capable of putting out a substantial amount of power but her endurance wasn't as great.

After her break, she went right back to training, pushing herself to her limit and beyond. Her electric field crackled with anger and frustration that she'd hit a barrier that she was seemingly unable to cross.

After a few more hours of training, she went back to her dorm to find Lilo studying in the corner, Robin meditating and Morgan doing pushups.

Donna sat down on the couch and turned on the TV and flipped to her favorite channel.

"What's on?" he grunted as he kept up the exercise.

She shrugged. "Not much. The one where a kid gets a watch thing that can turn him into an alien. Not my favorite but it's entertainment."

Morgan huffed and kept doing the pushups. "I guess. That kid's irritating as hell."

Donna shrugged again. "He gets better in the sequel series when they age him up. Until they make him regress again. I think they thought that an asshole protag would get better ratings. That backfired. Almost got it canceled, I'm pretty sure."

Morgan chuckled. "Oh, that's fuckin' hilarious."

The four went along with their routines until they had all gone to bed. The next couple days were uneventful and finally the day of the trip arrived. They had to take a Bullhead to the specific spot in the forest they were to gather sap in.

They separated into their different teams after Professor Goodwitch reiterated the point of the trip and to make sure everyone would behave and stay safe.

As the four of them walked through the red foliage of the forest, Donna took a furtive glance at Lilo. "Hey, Morgan?"

"Yeah? What's up?" he asked.

"Would you mind ever so much if me and Lilo had a tiny bit of private time? We've got a few things to 'discuss'." she said, her cheeks reddening a little bit.

Lilo rolled his eyes but smirked.

Morgan cocked an eyebrow in confusion and shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Just make sure to message us if you get into any trouble with Grimm."

The two pairs split off. Donna and Lilo collected their jars of sap relatively quickly and sat down in a small clearing, Lilo on Donna's lap, just enjoying each other's company.

Donna sighed heavily, though. "H-hey, Lilo?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked up at the taller fighter. "Yeah? What is it?"

She thought back to what Morgan had said a couple months ago. Why do you need other people's approval? Why not be satisfied with your own image of yourself? The words played around in her head over and over again.

"Am I… good enough?" she asked.

Lilo raised an eyebrow. "Unexpected question. Of course you are, Donna. You're strong, beautiful and the most reliable person I've ever known. You've gotten me out of some pretty bad situations over the years. Why are you asking?"

Donna sighed. "All my life, I've been told that nothing I've ever done is enough. I've only ever been told my flaws." she said, a tear rolling down her face.

Lilo wiped the tear away and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "By one person, Donna. Neptunia is your mother but she's too harsh on you. Whatever happens, I'll support you. Morgan and Robin, too. We'll be there for you, no matter what."

Donna smiled and kissed Lilo on the mouth. They separated and hugged. "Thank you, Lilo. I love you so much. You mean so much more to me than you'll ever know."

He chuckled. "I could say the same to you, you know."

They spent the next couple hours just being close together and enjoying each other's company until they both received alerts on their scrolls that Robin's Aura was low and they heard a distant roar of rage.

"What the hell is going on?!" Donna exclaimed.

Robin POV

After Donna and Lilo had split off, Robin wondered how she was going to figure out her feelings. She knew she really liked Morgan but had no idea how to broach the subject with him. She also had no idea if what Lilo had said meant he felt the same way or not.

She was following Morgan, who was sniffing each tree to find "the right one", whatever that meant. She blushed as her eyes and thoughts shifted… somewhere not suitable for polite company. She shook her head to clear it and had to stifle a groan.

Morgan had apparently found a suitable tree and started to gather both jars of sap. He watched the red liquid slowly drip into the jars. "Why does Peach even need this crap? Far as I can tell, it's just ordinary sap and sap ain't good for anything except makin' syrup." he huffed.

Robin shook her head and smiled softly. "Sap is basically the blood of a tree. It transports water, energy and nutrients throughout its body. Without sap, trees couldn't function. And not all sap can be used to make syrup, you know." she chuckled.

Morgan rolled his eyes and snorted. "Eh, whatever. How do you know so much about trees, though? Seems like a Lilo thing."

Robin rolled her eyes and smirked. "I live in an isolated village in the middle of a dense forest. The people in my village have a special connection to the forest. We take care of it and it takes care of us. The least we can do in return is learn how it works."

He shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. I gotta say, though, I've always been at home in a forest. It calms me for whatever reason. It's totally different from Atlas."

Robin cocked her head to the side. "You've never really talked about your hometown. What was it like?"

"Quarrus? Cold and barren, mostly. It's a small mining village in northern Atlas. Nothin' really to write home about. It's so far north that six months out of the year the sun's up 24/7 and the other six months it's dark as shit all day. I hated it. I never really fit in. None of the human kids wanted anything to do with me and the only Faunus kids that hung out with me were Ki and Aoi. I was the weird tiger kid with the two animal traits. After my mom and dad died, I couldn't stomach staying there anymore. So I left. Almost fuckin' died doin' it, though.

"A few hours after I left, a Beowolf and a huge Ursa Major found me. Were it not for a fox Faunus lady, I'd be dead right now." he recounted.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "A fox Faunus lady? What do you mean?"

"A fox Faunus saved me. She was a Huntress and seemed to be a pretty strong one. I found her ship while I was making the trek to Atlas City. I'd killed the Beowolf in Berserker Mode and she killed the Ursa in a single hit without effort. I wish she'd told me her name. I tried to find her again after she dropped me off in Vale but got nothing." he explained.

Robin nodded slowly. She noticed that the jars were full. "We've got the sap. What do you want to do now?" she asked.

The Faunus teen shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to go back right away, though."

Robin looked up at the tree branches. They were in a pretty dense part of the forest, reminding her of something she loved doing with Haiiro. "Those tree branches look strong enough to hold our weights. You want to race?" she asked.

Morgan cocked an eyebrow. "On tree branches?"

She nodded. "Yeah! Me and Haiiro do it all the time. As long as we're careful and mind where we're putting our feet, it should be good."

He shrugged again. "Sure, why not?" he said, leaping up into a low branch, his tail sticking out behind him to help keep balance on the tree limb.

Robin leapt onto the same branch. They both tensed their muscles. Robin glanced at Morgan. His teeth were bared in a feral grin. He was excited at the thought of a competition.

Robin started the countdown. "Five… four… three… two… one… go!" she cried out.

They both blazed forward, running as fast as they could. They leapt from branch to branch with hardly a thought. Robin had years of experience with the task and Morgan's tail gave him a very high natural aptitude for acrobatics.

The two were making a circuit back to where they had gathered their sap.

For a good minute or two, Robin and Morgan were neck and neck. However, once Morgan's shaky footing from inexperience righted itself, he pulled ahead.

Soon, he was a good ten feet ahead of her. He roared and laughed in excitement. Robin smirked. He was just amazing. He excelled at just about anything physical. He was strong, fast and agile. It seemed like nothing could ever beat him.

They ran for a good ten minutes before they made their first turn. Where Robin had to rely on the tree trunks to change direction, spinning around it to bleed off excess speed, Morgan's tail acted as a rudder and stabilizer and let him turn on a dime.

Robin had leapt onto another branch and heard a small cracking noise. She felt herself start to fall but was too shocked to scream. She fell a good thirty feet before bouncing off of an oddly white collection of boulders and onto the red forest floor. She shook her head to clear it.

"Ow… thank the Gods for Aura…" she groaned.

She sensed something very heavy move behind her and heard clicking and creaking. She slowly turned around and saw the collection of boulders she'd bounced off of earlier was rising off the ground. Only, they weren't boulders, she found. They were the bony plates of a Death Stalker.

Her eyes widened in shock and fear. "Oh, no…" she whispered.

The scorpion like Grimm turned its ten eyes toward her and raised its pincers in a threat display, opening them and snapping them shut.

This Death Stalker was around the same size as the one they faced during Initiation and, judging from the scars in its armor, nearly as old. She knew she had no chance against this thing alone and screamed out, hoping Morgan would hear her, as she didn't know how far he had gotten ahead of her.

"MORGAN! HELP ME!" she screamed as she turned to run from the giant beast.

The Death Stalker scuttled after her, using its pincers to knock trees away.

Robin turned around briefly to launch a boulder at the monster that was quickly bashed away and Robin continued running away.

Shit, shit, shit! If I can't get away from this thing before Morgan gets here, I'm a goner! she thought frantically. She briefly thought to use the trees to gain height on the beast but every time she tried it, it would just launch its stinger where she would land so she abandoned that idea rather quickly.

She used her Semblance to create launching pads just under her feet as she pushed off to boost her speed significantly.

However, it wasn't enough as she felt its stinger graze her ribcage on her right side, her Aura shimmering around that area as the singer went through it and the giant beast grabbed her in a pincer and threw her against a tree, her Aura shimmering around her whole body, signaling that she was almost out.

She fell to the ground, barely able to move as it scuttled toward her, coming in for the kill.

However, she heard a loud roar of rage behind her as Morgan came in and kicked it away, white flame rising off his hands and hair. He turned around to face her, usual gold eyes shifted to… purple?

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded, too dazed to speak.

He nodded as well. He turned toward the Death Stalker. "You're gonna pay, you big ugly thing! You just hurt MY ROBIN!" he roared and charged at the Death Stalker.

Morgan POV

Morgan was dashing through the trees at full pelt, the wind through his hair making him feel more alive than he had ever felt.

He ran faster and faster as he jumped and leapt from tree to tree, pushing his speed to the absolute limit.

But he stopped as he realized he could no longer feel Robin's Aura behind him. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses to try and find her. He pinpointed her signature a good hundred feet behind him, near the ground.

Why was she on the ground? He felt her Aura sour with fear. What was going on? His ears twitched as her voice reached them.

"MORGAN! HELP ME!"

His eyes flew wide open as he raced to where he felt her energy was at full speed. As he ran, he felt her Aura spike as she attacked or defended against something, likely a Grimm. He heard trees get uprooted.

He saw Robin running from a Death Stalker just as its stinger was grazing her ribcage. The beast grabbed her with a pincer and hurled her into a tree, her Aura shimmering around her, signaling she was almost out.

As he saw her slump to the ground, he felt an untold rage burn in his heart. His eyes shifted and steam rose from his hands and hair. He powered up with a deafening roar of rage as the electrical control from Serenity and fiery rage from Berserker merged and mixed. White flames burst out of his hands and hair and he blazed toward the scorpion monster and kicked it with his full might, knocking it flying away from Robin.

He turned to face her. "You okay?" he asked.

She nodded.

He nodded as well. He turned toward the Death Stalker. "You're gonna pay, you big ugly thing! You just hurt MY ROBIN!" he roared and charged at the Death Stalker.

It roared and launched its stinger at him. He dodged the attack and grabbed its tail. He swung it around in a circle and slammed it into the ground multiple times, punctuating each time with a roar of rage and fury.

He flung the Death Stalker into the air about thirty feet high. He cupped his hands by his side and charged a blast of flames. As the Grimm was about to hit the ground, he thrust his hands forward, unleashing a massive pillar of flames toward the beast that completely engulfed it. The flames scorched and cracked its armor.

He cut power to the attack just before the Grimm would fall on top of him and backflipped out of the way.

It staggered weakly to its feet and clicked its pincers at him in an attempt to intimidate.

Morgan rushed forward and punched a hole in the beast's face and intensified the flames on his fist, lighting it on fire from the inside out and completely incinerating it.

He growled and snarled in exertion as the energies surging inside of him threatened to go out of control. The flames gathered let off little puffs of smaller flames and small surges of electricity played up and down his body as he struggled to control his power.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Robin. He used her face as his anchor, his stabilizer. The surging energies calmed and the flames on his hands and hair stabilized into a slow flowing motion, rather than the rapid flickering of Berserker Mode. He felt just as powerful as in Serenity Mode but his mental state felt no different from base form.

He powered down and hugged Robin tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay! You're not hurt at all?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. The stinger just grazed me, I don't think it had time to inject any venom." she said. They separated. "What the hell was that? Your eyes were purple!"

Morgan's eyes widened. "Purple? First blue, now this. I think… that I somehow combined both Berserker and Serenity Modes. To create something that neither could really achieve on their own. The ferocity of Berserker and the control of Serenity. I think I'll call it Full Power Berserker Mode." he said, looking at his hand.

Robin looked as if she'd realized something. "Oh! 'My Robin', huh?" she asked, a sly grin on her face.

Morgan blushed profusely as he realized what he'd said. "I-I, uh-!"

Robin interrupted him by shaking her head and smiling warmly. "It's fine, Morgan. I like you like that, too. There's something about you, I can't describe it."

"I've felt the same way. I just feel something… pulling me to you. Like you're the one person I'm meant to fight for, no matter what." he said. He pulled Robin into a deep hug.

Robin buried her face into his chest.

They stayed like that until Donna and Lilo burst out of the treeline. "What's going on?! Is everything alright?!" Donna asked frantically before she saw Morgan and Robin hugging. "Uh… Well, it looks like you two are fine so we're gonna give you some 'alone time'." she said before dragging Lilo back into the underbrush.

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Think we should head back?" he asked.

Robin shrugged. "Only if you want to. I'm good either way."

Lilo POV

After the teams had made it back to school, Professor Goodwitch had the nurse give Robin a full check up, just to make absolutely certain that Robin was okay and the Death Stalker hadn't injected any venom.

That had made for an entertaining story on the Bullhead ride back and Donna and Lilo were also intrigued by Morgan's new power mode.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! First Serenity Mode now this? How the hell is your Semblance developing so quickly?" Donna demanded.

Morgan shrugged. "I have no idea. It stayed the same for four years, now all of a sudden it's changing to a stupid degree. I had no idea I would be capable of any of this crap."

"Maybe it's an emotional trigger you respond best to. Most people's Semblances kick in and develop through training but some need an extra push. You seem to be one of those people. You unlocked your Semblance proper when your parents died, you unlocked Serenity Mode when pressed from all sides and pushed to the limit and unlocked Full Power Berserker when Robin was threatened… It does definitely seem like your powers react best to an emotional trigger, like rage or loss." Lilo explained.

Morgan groaned. "Is it too much to ask for an easy life? Fuck's sake." he griped.

Lilo shrugged. "Well, no one said life would be easy. But all that latent potential does make training and getting stronger much easier, right?"

Morgan snorted. "I guess."

The three of them hung out in their dorm, watching various things on TV or chatting about things of little consequence for the rest of the night, waiting for Robin to return from the infirmary.

Morgan POV

He was still in the living area of the dorm. It was past midnight but he couldn't get to sleep, he was still thinking about what had happened earlier that day. He looked at his hand. He didn't have any idea what was happening to him or his powers and that made him nervous, an emotion that he rarely felt.

He heard the lock turn as Robin entered the dorm. "Hey, guys. The nurse put me through all sorts of tests just to make sure. Oh, just you Morgan? Where're Donna and Lilo?"

"They went to bed. They were tired and they figured you were okay anyway. I just couldn't sleep." he answered.

Robin sat next to him. "Ah. Morgan… are you okay? You look… well I don't know."

Morgan shrugged. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin'."

"About what?"

He shrugged again. "This stuff goin' on with my Semblance. It's weirdin' me out that it's changin' so quickly." he sighed.

Robin pulled him into a hug. "Whatever happens, you know, all three of us will back you. You're our teammate and leader. Our friend."

Morgan held Robin closely. "That means more to me than you'll ever know." he whispered.

"Morgan… What are we now?" she asked.

They separated. "What do you mean?"

"Are we just friends now? Or are we something more? Because now I know you feel the same way I do about you, I don't think I can be satisfied with just being friends." Robin said, staring directly into Morgan's eyes.

Morgan's ears flattened. "I… don't know. I'm still new to all this. I like you, Robin, a lot. I'd even go far as to say I love you, I know that now. But I've never been in a relationship like this. I have no idea where to go from here."

She smiled softly. "Well, I've never been in a relationship either. If you want, we can go down this road together?" she said, posing it as a question.

He took a moment to think about it. The more he thought about it, the more the notion felt right to him. He leaned forward. He took her face in his hands. His heart pumped and blood boiled and he felt as exhilarated as he would be in a fight. He pressed their mouths together and he got the overwhelming feeling that he had made the right decision.

They held their kiss for a few moments before separating. Looking at her face, Morgan thought that Robin had felt the same thing.

She kissed him this time and they stayed like that for what seemed like an age before separating. Morgan held Robin as closely to his body as he physically could, as if he needed to be that close to her. They stayed like that for hours until they eventually fell asleep.

AN: The emotional climax has arrived! I had the idea for this particular chapter forever and couldn't wait to write it. I do need to explain a concept though. Aura snapping is something I've come up with basically when a Huntsman or Huntress tries to power up but they don't actually have the Aura to sustain it. Their Aura "collapses", for lack of a better term, and they typically pass out. For how long depends on how strong the power they're trying to use is and how much Aura they have versus what they need to sustain it. I came up with the concept after seeing Ultra Instinct wreck Goku's body in Super and I thought I'd incorporate it. Also, the next chapter or two is going to be slice of life stuff before we get into the last three chapters of the Volume, which will cover their attempt to find and fight Chienne Blanc. I do want to know what you guys thought of the chapter, specifically the development of the romantic relationships and Morgan's new power mode. I needed to create FP Berserker as a form that was as powerful as Serenity but was easier to use, control and activate.

Alright, review and let me know what you think of the chapter! Until the next one!