(YAY!! This finally made it on! I've wanted to put this up for so long I never thought it would make it! Now that it's up I kinda have to finish it..." Hope you enjoy and please comment!)

It's Not Too Late

It's not too late…you can still catch up to him…

Those words keep going around in my head. Yeah? What if I've already run out of time? I always second guess myself, never thinking positive, always negative. It's not my fault really. The world that I live in; It's natural to think that way.

Nepstar is in danger. Since before I was born, we have been fighting against neighboring planet, Erastar. We, as well as Erastar, have lost many brave soldiers. The ruler of Erastar is Queen Asmerelda and King Jet rules Nepstar. The rumor is that all of King Jet's advisors are telling him to make an agreement of some sort with Queen Asmerelda in order to save not only Nepstar, but also Erastar, from destruction. Only problem is: What kind of agreement? King Jet became king because his father, King Rowan, died in the Battle of Galaxia four years ago. Queen Asmerelda became ruler not too long after. King Jet was only sixteen, about my age back then, when he was crowned. Since then, it's been an up and down hill battle for Nepstar. Now, we, the people, are trying to find a way of living, without being blown up by enemy fire. It's a good thing for some of us though.

"Help, Help!! That man just stole some jewelry!" a woman yelled. I looked up from where I was sitting, and noticed a guy dressed in a black cloak. Sigh great another one. I got up and walked in front of the guy. "Move out of the way if you know what's good for you!" he yelled at me. I smiled. "Bad mistake telling me to move." I grabbed my bow from my back, also grabbing a net arrow from my quiver, aimed, then shot. The man stopped, thinking that I had used a regular arrow. The arrow exploded and the net surrounded the man. "Hey! I'm trying to get money for my family!" the man yelled, struggling from inside the net. I put my hands on my hips.

"Well you shouldn't have resorted to stealing from others trying to do the same thing." I turned and left as the Defenders were getting there. So now they show after all the fighting is over; what great Defenders they are. I guess one of them noticed the quiver-shape under my cloak, because before I knew it, I was being chased by the Defenders. Well, so much for trying to do a good deed. I ran and ran, hoping to get them off my trail, but there they were, always close to getting me. Finally, I found a door that was open. I went in and down the stairs. I stayed on the stairs, trying to see if they saw me go through that door. Apparently they hadn't, cause if they did, I'd probably be in prison by now. Okay, now that was too close for comfort…I sat on one of the stairs, catching my breath before I kept going. Luckily, I would be safe; this was my home; Well, at least it's been for the last two years. A rogue missile burned down my family's house. My family perished inside, leaving me to live on my own. I don't know how I survived; my friend, Kieran, says that someone must have protected me, but whom? I miss my family deeply, but there's nothing anybody can do to return them to the world of the living; it would take a miracle, and miracles don't come around anymore like they used to.

After catching my breath, I stood up and continued down the stairs. At the bottom, I opened a door, turned on the lights, and went into a small foyer-like room. "Luca, Luca, where are you?" I began looking around. I got on all fours and searched the ground. "Ah, there you are, Luca!" I said, picking up a small white kitten. "Meow!" "Have you been good while I was gone?" I asked the kitten. "Don't worry, nobody followed me this time, so it's okay to talk now." I smiled at the kitten as it sighed out of relief. "Finally! I was wondering how long you were gonna make me meow and purr and all that cat stuff! Put me down so that I can transform!"

"Okay, okay, just a sec!" I said as I put the scrambling kitten down. There was a great flash of blue light and the kitten turned into a little girl with long white hair, blue-tipped ears, and tail poking out of her head and back. "What'd you do today, Amore? Did you find any food that I might like?" Luca asked, hopping up and down. I smiled, and pulled out a small bag. "This is enough for both of us for two days, so try not to eat all at once, okay?" I pulled out a small loaf of bread and cheese for me, and some small fish for Luca, which were in a bag by themselves. "Aww, do I really have to wait to eat the others?" "Do you want to be starving tomorrow?" I said, trying not to sound mean. She looked at her fish, then shook her head from side to side. I smiled. "Don't worry, Luca, I'll find more fish for you tomorrow, just save those, just in case."

Just then, there was a large pounding from the door upstairs. I turned to Luca. "Quick! Transform back!" There was another flash of blue light and Luca turned back into a kitten. I went over to the door, and slightly opened it. There was someone looking down the stairs, trying to see if anyone was there. They looked out into the alley, came in, and then closed the door. "Luca, the lights!" I whispered to the cat. Luca jumped and turned the lights off, just as the person was turning around. I closed the door and stood by so that if the person tried coming in, I could ambush them. "Luca, be ready to strike, okay?" I saw Luca's bright blue eyes move up and down. I slowly unsheathed my dagger, getting ready for the attack. I heard the doorknob slowly turn. My heart raced, my breaths becoming shallower and shallower. The person came in just as I thought my heart would burst. I jumped on them, holding the dagger to their throat.

"Luca! The lights, the lights!" I blinked a few times when the lights came on. Whoever I was on, however, put their hands in front of their face and ran into the table. We both toppled over, the person landing on me; how I don't know. I lay there on the floor, trying to catch my breath and waiting for the person to get off me. They pushed themselves up just enough for me to get a glimpse of their face; dark hair with green eyes, then fell back on me…though not in the same position. They fell back on me all right, but kind of kissed me while trying to get up. I lay there shocked. Apparently, so was whoever was on me, cause they quickly got off me. Was that for real?? my mind squeaked.

"Hey, you all right?" said some unknown voice after some time. I slowly got up, sitting on my knees. Sitting there was a guy, about my age I figure, staring back at me, looking a little flushed. I guess I was flushed too; cause the guy came over to me and put his hand on my forehead. I sat there stunned. "Um, what are you doing?" I said to him while staring at his hand, which was still on my forehead. He quickly removed his hand. "So, I guess you're okay…" the guy said under his breath. He looked around the room. "You live here?" I stared at the guy, awestruck. Who does this guy think he is? He just kissed me! "Um, yeah, but what are you doing here?" I said, crossing my arms. He smiled. "Look, I was just trying to get away from the Defenders and this was the only place I could find." I sighed. Great. Now there's someone with the same problems as me…Perfect.

"Well since you're here, do you mind telling me what your name is? I mean, you're not gonna be able to get by with the Defenders on your tail until maybe tomorrow or something." I stood up, trying to see if I could salvage anything the guy could sleep on cause there was NO WAY he was sleeping with me in my bed.

"Oh, my name's Roan. What's yours if you don't mind me asking?" the guy, Roan, asked smiling at me. I turned and looked at him. They have the same name…is that…even possible? Roan looked at me. "Hello? Are you gonna answer or not?" I blinked a few times and shook my head. "My name's Amore and my kitten's name is Luca." He went over to pet Luca. "Um, I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Luca bit down on his hand. "Oww!" He said, pulling his hand away. "Told you. Luca doesn't adapt to strangers all that well…" I continued looking for something to be suitable for a bed.

"Well, I guess that's one thing you have in common with each other." He said, checking his hand for broken skin. Oh, so this guy's a wise crack, huh? I picked him up from his collar, if you could even call it that, and opened the door. "Hey! Come on, I was only trying to lighten up the mood!"

I stared at his face. "Then next time, I suggest you watch what you say. Oh, and at least apologize for kissing someone you just met." I dropped him at the open door, not caring if I hurt him or not. I pointed to Luca's bed. "You can sleep there. I hope to see you gone by tomorrow morning." I turned toward my room. I didn't wait for the guy's answer. Instead, I turned to Luca and headed to my room.

"Luca." Luca looked at me and followed me in. I closed the door, so that Roan wouldn't get any ideas. I started changing clothes. Luca watched me move around the small room. "What are we gonna do, Amore? That guy seems like bad news to me." Luca whispered. I thought of what to do for a moment.

"Don't worry about him. I can handle anything he dishes out." Luca gave me an uncertain look. "I hope your right, Mori." I got into bed, Luca hopping onto the pillow as I laid my head down. I smiled as Luca looked at me. "What is it?" she asked. I shook my head, still smiling. "This just reminds me of how we used to sleep like this when Eric was living with us." "You mean…?" I nodded. "Yeah, before King Rowan was killed." I turned to my side. Luca jumped over my head. "Are you gonna be okay, Mori?" I wiped a tear. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just try and get some sleep, okay?"

Start flashback/dream

Eric and I were in our sitting room, he reading as usual, I humming a toneless song while making our dinner.

"Mori, I have some bad news."

"What could be worse then losing a battle?" I said to Eric, not really thinking of what he was talking about. Eric sighed and grabbed my arm. I turned to face him. "Can you just sit down, please, Mori?" I was going to protest, but Eric looked very serious, so I sat down.

"So, what's this 'bad news' you're talking about?" I asked, watching Eric pace in front of me. He turned and walked over to me, kneeled and placed my hands in his. I gave him a confused look.

"Mori, I have been personally asked by King Rowan to fight on the front line." Eric got up and continued pacing. I sat there, shocked, sad, hurt, and angry all at once.

A million questions flooded my mind. "How long will you be gone? Where will you be? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why wasn't I asked to join you? King Rowan should know that we always fight alongside each other…what makes me so different as to not go?" I said, the anger rising in my voice, which also made me rise to my feet and clench my fists. Eric came over and hugged me. I started crying from all those feelings flooding out of me.

"I tried to get you to come with me, but he insisted that you stay. He didn't want to risk anyone else getting hurt or killed." "And that gives him right to let you go and get killed?!"

Eric sighed. "I…don't want you going either…Besides, that's not the only reason why he wanted you to stay..." Eric rubbed my belly, which was still not showing any signs of having a life inside me.

"What? Why not? You know I'm one of the top fighters on Nepstar. Even King Rowan knows that. Why don't you want me going? I would rather die with you on the battlefield than die here by myself." I placed my hand over Eric's which was still on my belly.

"Enough, Amore."

I stopped talking and looked at Eric. Tears were streaming down his face. I wiped the tears away with my cloak. "I don't want you getting killed on the battlefield because I love you too much. I wouldn't be able to bear the lose of you or our baby."

I could tell that he was hurting. I kissed him, trying to get his mind off of leaving me here alone while I was with child. I wanted to laugh at his facial expression.

"I love you too, but I don't want you risking your mission for me. I'll stay here if that's what you want." Eric looked at me. "You would wait for me?" I nodded and kissed him again. "I'll wait 'til the end of the universe for your return."

A few months later I got a knock on the door from Commander Lock, an old friend of Eric and mine and a new friend to King Jet. "Amore Nightingale, I have some terrible news."

"What do you mean?" I asked in a confused tone. "I'm terribly sorry, but Eric has gone missing as of three months ago." I was stunned. I held onto the wall, trying to steady myself so that I wouldn't fall and hurt the baby. "He's been missing that long and you didn't tell me?"

"We wanted to confirm it, Ma'am," said one of Lock's attendees. None of this seemed right. Tears began welling up in my eyes as I sank to the floor, holding myself as best as I could with my belly. Eric…where are you? I…can't find you anywhere…where are you?

End flashback/dream

I tried to forget about that time. I never wanted to remember it again; it hurt too much to just think about it…

Unfortunatly, right before King Rowan's death, I lost Eric's baby when I was targeted by an assassin. It left me devistated and every close to death because of the attack. Remarkably, I survived the attack and was released from the hospital. However, I along with all my fellow recruits and friends, were decommissioned for fear that we might rebel against King Jet. Rebellion, fighting, or any other form of domestic violence was sentence to termination. During this time of decommissioning, I began distancing myself from the others. Sure, they came by to see how I was doing, especially because of the baby, but I guess seeing me in the state I was in… After another three months past with no word on the whereabouts of Eric, I began losing hope. It was hard, thinking that he would come back one day. The problem was that 'one day'. I always thought that he would of wanted me to be happy, even if it was without him. But that always made me wonder: Do I want myself to be happy? I guess that was the only thing leading me day after day…

"Wake up, sleeping beauty!" I heard from the other side the door. I opened my eyes. Morning… I sat up, Luca falling off my chest in the process. She hissed at me.

"Sorry, Luca, I didn't know you were there." I put out a hand to pet her. She jumped onto the floor, turned, and stuck her tongue out. I smiled, trying not to laugh.
"Hey, um, Amore, I'm sorry for coming into your home and um…kissing you…and…um…" Roan said from the door, his words somewhat muffled. I could really tell that he indeed was sorry. He stood there silent for a few moments. "I won't bother you anymore."

I heard the door open. "Well, I hope to see you around sometime. Take care, Angel." And with that, Roan the mysterious was gone.

"What does he mean by 'Angel', Mori?" Luca asked, staring at my face intently and confused. I just sat there, thinking about what Roan said. How does he know? I made sure that no one, not even Luca, knew about them… "…More? Amore Evangeline Nightingale, are you even listening to me?"

I came back from my world. "Huh? What's the matter, Luca?" I said, turning to her. "Mori, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Luca asked in a worried tone of voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, don't worry about me. You should worry about getting those fish for dinner." I said getting up to get dressed. I want to go after him, but I can't risk getting captured by the Defenders if I went out right now, especially after their little fiasco yesterday…. That made me think more. What If he got captured? What would they do to him? Realizing this, I quickly got dressed, told Luca that I was leaving, then left. I was hoping that I might run into Roan while I was out, but to my dismay, I didn't spot him. I thought I saw him once, even ran after who I thought was him, but it was only some girl. After looking everywhere for him, I decided to just continue my search another day. It's not like people just up and disappear… I stood and looked at the notice board. Usually, there aren't many new events going on, but today was different. Many people were missing, from little children to the elderly. Among the many pictures, I saw a far too familiar face.

Eric…so they still haven't found you…why is this happening? I began scanning all the pictures, trying to see if I knew anyone else. To my relief and dismay, Eric was the only one I knew. It pained me to see that Eric's picture was still there; it made me think that something must of happened to him on that day when they couldn't find him…

"Hey, are you okay, Amore?" I heard someone say from behind me. I turned around to find the one person I had been searching the whole day for. There was such a look of worry on his face…it surprised me.

"Eric…" I just stood there in a daze, crying because Eric seemed so lost to me and there he was, right in front of me. I guess it started raining; I couldn't feel the raindrops fall down on me. They seemed so heavy. I could feel someone's warm arms surround me. I could feel that the person really cared about me. I don't know how; I can just tell. I hugged the person back, needing their support to keep me from falling.

"Come with me, you can stay at my place until the storm subsides." I really didn't comprehend what they had just said, so all I could think of doing was nodding. They draped their cloak around us and lead me to a small basement-like room close to the docks.

"Here, sit down, you'll feel better. You can sleep if you want." he said, sitting me down on a bed when we were inside and out of the cold rain. He added more wood to what looked like a fireplace. I sat there still teary-eyed, staring into the fire, as I waited for him to come back. I decided to take him up on his offer of sleeping. I lay down and curled up and was fast asleep within a few minutes.

Roan returned with towels and extra clothes to a sleeping Amore. He smiled at her peaceful looking face. Now, that looks like a sleeping princess…it makes me want to kiss her again… Roan thought to himself. But who was that 'Eric' she was talking about back there?… He noticed Amore moved in her sleep from the cold so he placed a blanket on her, almost immediately seeing her curl up even more to the welcomed warmth of the blanket. Roan, not being tired, pulled up a chair and sat and watched Amore. He draped a blanket over himself and fell asleep as well, though not after knowing that Amore was all right.

I awoke to the sound of someone's light snoring, someone near me apparently. I didn't want to open my eyes, but did so against my body's will. Sitting in a chair, close to my head, was Roan, fast asleep. I could tell that he hadn't been sleeping well, probably something he was dreaming about. I sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Suddenly, I realized that I, along with my hair, was all wet. I need a shower… I noticed a pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. I got out of the bed and, making sure not to wake Roan, grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. I removed my wet clothes and got into the shower. The water's warmth was so soothing to my cold skin. I stood there, trying to remember what had happened after seeing Eric's picture on the notice board. My memory's all hazy…I can't remember what happened… Dismissing trying to remember, I washed my hair and face, dried off, and changed clothes. By the time I was out of the bathroom, Roan had woken up and was making something to eat. He turned as the door opened and smiled.

"Feel better now?" Roan asked as I placed my clothes on the footrest of the bed.

"Much better, thanks." I turned to him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making something for you to eat, in case you caught a cold or something." Roan said, adding in some carrots and celery.

"What do you mean?" I asked, but I guess I spoke too soon, cause as soon as the last word was out of my mouth, I felt a dizzy sensation fall over me. I melted to the floor, clutching my shoulders, shuddering. Roan came over to me and helped me to my feet and over to the chair he was sleeping in earlier.

"Thank you…" I managed to say to him. "And…I'm sorry. I shouldn't of snapped at you like that yesterday. And I shouldn't have told you to leave…and…" I was trying to say all my "I'm sorry's" before I would regret them.

"Shut up." He said, his eyes adverted from my gaze. "Huh?" I was a little taken aback. He raised his eyes to mine. There was something there that I couldn't describe. "Shut up and stop talking already."

I had a confused look on my face.

"What are you? -" I was cut off mid-sentence by his lips on mine. I blinked a few times, and then gave in to the warm feeling. His lips…they're…so warm… I kissed him back and closed my eyes, half surprised with my body's reaction. I felt his hand run through my still wet hair. His touch felt so comforting, but something was there, at the edge of my mind, telling me that this wasn't right. But I didn't care, I didn't care how much my mind was telling me no, I shouldn't do this, I wanted this, I needed this; this…feeling of being loved again, of knowing that someone truly cared for me…the way that Eric had cared for me. When his lips left mine, I kept my eyes closed for another second then opened them. He was blushing, and I was blushing too, cause I could feel my cheeks getting redder and redder. He smiled at me and I smiled back, caressing his face. He placed his hand over my limp one on the armrest.

"See? I told you you probably caught a cold." He smiled as I started to laugh. He did as well and then sneezed, which made me laugh more. I noticed that the food was still cooking. "Um, shouldn't you get back to cooking? Now there're two sick people."

"Oops, yeah, I guess you're right." He kissed me on the forehead and continued cooking while I waited for my clothes to dry. We didn't talk about the kiss. I guess it wasn't that important at the time. The food was done in about another five minutes. We set the table and then sat down to eat. We could still hear the pounding of the rain pouring down outside. The rain made me think of…

"Oh, no! I completely forgot about Luca! I was supposed to get more fish for her! Oh, and she's all alone right now! She's probably wondering where I am!" I said as I stood up from my seat, grabbed my clothes, and ran to the bathroom to change. I heard a knock on the door.

"She's probably okay, Amore, it's not like she can leave whenever she wants. And besides, she's probably thinking that you got held up in the rain. I don't think anyone would be out in this storm." I heard Roan say from the other side of the door.

"You don't understand! Luca isn't like any other cat. She can change into a human, actually an Anihuman, and go wherever she wants. She's probably out looking for me right now!" I said, opening the door and leaning on Roan. He put his arms around me.

"Then why don't we try and find her? I'm sure she couldn't of gotten far in this weather." I raised my head and nodded, not wanting to waste time arguing on such a silly matter.

I stood at the door as Roan got a cloak for himself. He came up to me clipping the cloak on over his clothes. I had been thinking about what he had said and it was starting to bug me. Deciding that I couldn't delay any longer, I turned to him.

" How did you know?" I asked him once his cloak was fastened. Roan looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. "What are you talking about, Amore? I have no idea what you're talking about." Roan said, apparently forgetting what he had said yesterday morning.

"How did you know about them?" He still looked like he didn't know what I was talking about. I wrenched off my cloak and turned my back to him. I pulled my hair forward, revealing my large, but skinny white wings. I turned to find Roan looking as if he still didn't know. "What about them?" I grabbed his cloak and glared at him. He looked as if he wanted to…laugh. I glared at him more. "What's so funny?" I asked, trying not to lose my anger. Roan just shook his head.

"Nothing, it's just, you're so quick to pick a fight. I mean, usually it's the man that picks a fight with someone, not the woman." That statement made me mad, but I tried hard not to show it.

"So what, are you saying that women shouldn't try and protect themselves by picking fights?" I pushed him against the wall. "I'm only going to ask one more time: How do you know about my wings?" He turned his head and smirked. I pulled him then pushed him against the wall again.

"I heard that there was something…different about you. So, being curious, I snuck into King Rowan's files and found out what you are." He said simply, like he wasn't talking about someone; like he was talking about something that didn't have any feelings, like it was some lower form of being. I tried desperately not to lash out at him.

"Okay, so you must know that I lost my first love in the Battle of Galaxia, that I was decommissioned to be thought that I was going to revolt against King Jet, that I am not really a Numan and that I have wings and the only one's who knew were me, King Rowan, and the official that screened me when I joined King Rowan's forces. Oh, and that I don't know who my birth parents are and that I don't remember anything about how I got here or even if 'Amore Evangeline Nightingale' is my real name. Did you find all that out too?" I said as I started to cry. "I don't even know what I am. I've never met anyone with wings protruding from their shoulder blades, or someone who can tell the feelings of the people around her, or that she has the power over light and being a skilled warrior all came in that package. No one, except for Eric." I let go of Roan and opened the door. "I guess that's the difference between you two: you don't care about me at all, you only want me so you can turn me into the Defenders' researchers so you can get money and live a life of luxury for the rest of your days." I went out the door and turned to face Roan. "I hope you find someone else to be your toy." I slammed the door and ran off, not looking back.

I really hope she's okay. Luca looked up into the dark and cloudy sky. I wonder if she got out of this rain, she was out shopping and she didn't come home at the usual time…Mori, I hope you're okay…Luca thought to herself, waiting for the rain to subside. I've decided; I'm gonna keep looking for her. I'm bound to find her in some store or pub. Luca turned her head from side to side. Well, I'd better get looking…

How could you let yourself be toyed with like that? ! I thought to myself, running through the still pouring rain. I screwed up, okay? I thought that he was different. I thought he actually cared about me…like Eric did.

You're getting weak; being alone without Eric made you a weakling. I stopped running, standing there, getting drenched by the rain, cold against my hot face. Maybe that's what's wrong with me; I'm getting weak, not being able to handle my own problems or being able to protect myself. I looked up into the dark rain clouds. If I'm weak, how did I survive this long without Eric? Most women would have killed themselves or found someone else to take care of them…I didn't. I worked hard to keep our home in one piece; I made sure there was food for Luca and me… My thoughts came back to me; I still need to find Luca.