" Yeah well you passed out," Spot said picking up his stuff in the room.

" really when?" Action asked half ass paying attention. Spot took advantage of this.

" Right before I confessed my love for you." Spot said casually.

" oh sorry," Action said lying back down. It took the words a moment or two to reach her brain and when they did she shot up out of bed, " what?"

" Nothin'" Spot smirked, "Get up and come down stairs, you missed a lot last night."

" Evidently so," Action muttered as she climbed out of bed. She clumsily made her way down the steps. She saw Jacob and Katie running around like nothing had happened. Mellony sat quietly sewing something. Action sighed and continued down the steps.

" Hey Skweeks," Action said approaching her pal. " Hey Action," Skweeks said turning to her, " how you holdin' up?"

" Hung over…very hung over." Action smirked.

" Well you up fer some fightin?" Skweeks asked.

" I'm always up for a little somethin' or other," Action took in a deep breath, "So whats the jazz on this huh?" Action asked as the two walked slowly into the main bunkroom. It was full of Newsies.

" Its goin' down tonight." Skweeks replied. Action looked at Skweeks and back at the room. There was a hint of the old Action Monroe in her eyes.

" Lets get the games started then?" Action let a smile come across her face. At that moment Katie came running into Action screaming about Jacob taking something, "Aw Katie," Action picked her up, " What did he do?"

" He took me ball away from me." Katie pouted.

" Well that weren't very nice no were it?" Action laughed slightly.

" When's Donavan comin' back?" Katie asked an innocent question that struck right to the heart of Action.

" Hey why don't ye go see if Race er Jack wanna play huh?" Action said putting Katie down. Katie scampered off into the bunk room.

" They don't know?" Skweeks asked.

" Nah," Action said looking down, " they ah don't even know bout dere dad yet. Mellony don't think they're old 'nough yet to understand it yet," Action stood there a little uneasy, " Hey I gotta go tie up a loose end, kay?" With that she headed up to the stairs that led to the roof.

***

Action could smell the clean clothes as she opened the door to the roof. Mellony stood there hanging things up to dry. For a moment it seemed like they were back in Ireland and everything was the way it was before. But then the sound of gun going off echoed in Action's head like it always did and she continued to walk towards Mellony.

" Hey Mellony," Action said not looking at her, " We gotta talk. Yous guys can't stay here no more. Its getten a little too dangerous round here and with the fight tonight there is no tellin' what could happen…"

" Action," Mellony smiled, " I understand, but what about you?"

" What about me? I'm just some con tryin' to keep a promise." Action tried to make a crack about herself. She stood by the edge of the roof looking down at the street.

" Yer not as bad as you'd like ta be," Mellony made her way over to Action and laid a hand on her shoulder, "It wasn't yer fault. Donavan was 'is own person, responsible fer 'is own life. Just like I'm me own person responsible for me own life as well."

" Yeah but you got Katie and Jacob"

" Yer right, I have 'em not you. I been lookin' fer places Action, and I've found one. Its not too much money, and the owner is real nice, he's Irish ya know and I've already found meself a job. But I want you ta come with me. Its all the way out west. You could get a new start fer yerself, away from all this…"

" Wait how did you manage ta get a place out west?"

" We knew some good people in Ireland who moved out there sometime last year. I got in touch with 'em and they're sendin' us fare to travel there with."

" How soon?"

" Tomorrow."

" Tomorrow?"

" I didn't want to tell you till I was sure. Now will you come?"

" Mellony," Action took a deep breath, " I'd love to live out west in some little town in some great house with a real family but I wouldn't fit there…ya know? I got this thing inside me that won't sit still. I gotta go where ever da action is… and you don't want some one like me in any way influencin' yer kids neither."

" Oh Action," Mellony chuckled and put her arm around Action's shoulders, "You are one o' da kindest and nicest people I 'ere met. I'd be proud ta have my kids turn out like you…You've got a good heart inside ya and a fire that keeps yer soul bright. But I do understand dat you don't want to move out west with us…I wish ya would but I understand you've got yerself to find and who knows…maybe you'll find that person that's inside ya and come out west to us."

" Thanks Mellony," Action smiled for a second then snapped back into the whole reason she had come up there, " But we gotta get ya safe tonight…you can leave tomorrow real early…no matter what you hear has gone down you leave. I'll scrape together some money fer ya ta stay in some hotel er somethin." With that Action dashed towards the door and down the steps.

****

" Alright, gimme all da money you gots," Action ordered. Newsies were searching their pockets and clothes to find anything they could contribute to the fund with. It wasn't to long before they had more then enough to put them up for the night. Never the less Action told Mellony to pack up her things. Spitfire and some other Newsies had offered to take them to the hotel and soon Mellony was on her way. Action said a quick goodbye to them. It was getting too dark now to let the goodbyes last long.

The night came much quicker today. The newsies were ready for it, they just hoped tomorrow would come just as quickly. They took positions all around New York. There were reports of some little fights but none as big as the one in Manhatten.

****

" You wanna piece o' me?" Race screamed as he jumped one of the New Jersey boys. The rain fell harshly from the New York sky onto the battle grounds. To his left Blink stood fighting, to his right Cowboy. Friends to the end….just hopefully that wouldn't be tonight. There were knives and bats everywhere. Action could feel it. Skweeks had taken on some tough competition but she was holding her own. Action wasn't fighting too hard. She hadn't planned to. She'd save her fighting for Julio if he showed…she knew he would.

" YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE ME!!!" Action immediately rolled her eyes at the sound of this voice, " You think you can take down Chance Monroe!!!"

" Oh that's it!" Action knocked the guy out that had been trying to get her in one hard swing. She made her way over to Chance and let her have it right upside the head. Action looked around the battle field things were getting worse. She grabbed Chance and drug her to the old abandoned theatre house that was just around the corner.

****

" You have got some nerve!" Action said throwing her inside, "Stay here." Action went to leave.

" Hey I'll fight if I damn well want to!" Chance yelled at Action. There was a rage that ran through Action when it came to this kid….and she was about to release it. Action slammed the door shut and came back towards Chance.

"I'm in trouble," was all Chance managed to say before Action threw her across the stage that they had entered onto.

" WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Action yelled.

" Look I know yer mad, you should be. But I only took yer name on cause I didn't want my folks to find me and I thought that being THE Action Monroe wasn't that bad o' an idea." Chance said getting up.

" Jesus kid," Action said in an angry 'what the hell is wrong with you?' voice, "who in there right mind ever told you being me was a good idea? You don't know nothin' about me or me life. I could tell you things that I've seen happen that would give you night mares and make that false blood of yers run cold."

" Hey I ain't so innocent Monroe-" Chance attempted to speak but Action grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and went on.

" Fine Chance!" Action had a look of insanity in her eyes, " You wanna know what is like to be Action Monroe? Cause I can give you full detail of a very very interesting story about our dear old dad if you want? Huh? HUH? " Action shook Chance " Would you like that?" She threw chance to the ground, " You don't have any idea what it's like to be me... to spend your life running away from a memory. You haven't had the pleasure of hiding in an alley way prayin' ta God, assumin' dere is one, that the mobsters who are beating yer father to death don't find ya. You don't know what its like to be so helpless dat all you can do is sit there in the dark all alone watchin' them kill the only person who ever gave a damn about you. Or what its like to HAVE ta steal and HAVE to lie so much that it becomes an addiction...or bein' a goddamn alcoholic who is so busy drinkin' her past away until one day she looks in the mirror and its there...everything he was starrin right back at her..." Her breathing slowed as she calmed herself down and her eyes went back to their empty gaze upon Chance, " How's dat for a little family history?" Action gave tired laugh type of noise that put Chance even more on edge. Action ran her fingers threw her hair and sighed, " Go home kid, who ever da hell you really is...da street ain't big enough for two screw ups. I'm enough by meself." With that Action put her hat on and headed out the back door of the theatre she'd drug Chance into and walked into the cold night she'd grown too accustomed to. Action could hear the fighting still going on. But it wasn't just the territory war that had broken out between Jersey and New York, she heard the hate from the alleyway with her father's screams echoing into the night air, and she smelled the flames from Ireland that burned so far away and kept going. She could see Donavan's ghost lying in the corner of some warehouse, beaten half to death all because he was in someone else's territory. Worst off she could see herself, her life, and her father. She stood there a moment. It was over. No more. She was Action Monroe, the one who had the greatest luck in the world. Maybe it was time to do something with that luck. She'd leave tomorrow…and she wouldn't come back. This time it wasn't running away from what she'd done, it was finally finding what she could do.

***

Chance was left there. Maybe Action would come back to hit her some more. Maybe Dice would find her or maybe she'd get sucked into the fighting like so many already had. It was at that point Chance realized how much she missed her family. How much she had always wanted to go out west and see the world…and how scared she really was of this town.

She stood up and looked around. Chance was no doubt going to miss this place, and being called by her real name was going to be tough…but she'd manage. Spitfire would understand, hell maybe she might even be proud of her ol' pal Chance. Chance sighed and headed for the door. She opened the door slowly and stepped out into the night. The fighting wasn't so loud anymore, maybe they'd won. As she stepped into the light of the street she saw people fleeing this way and that down other alleys. Chance smirked. It was over…and she was going home. Chance turned to walk down the street.

" HEY CHANCE!" Chance whipped around at the sound of the cocking of a gun. She stood frozen as Julio aimed at her, "You just pulled your last good hand kid." The gunshot sounded like a scream in the night.

" NO!" Action's shoulder buried itself into Chance's side, knocking her to the ground. Chance lay under Action, more afraid then she had ever been. She could see blood, oh God there was blood. Chance sat up and Action had rolled over beside her. She could see the blood but there was no pain.

" There's blood," Chance looked around, " but where-" Chance saw Action wasn't moving beside her…she was so still she didn't even look like she was breathing.

" ACTION!" Chance said in breathless scream, " Action get up!" Chance started shaking her, but there was no reaction. Chance cradled the body and looked up at Julio, who stood terrified in the moonlight. He looked more scared then Chance. It wasn't till that moment Chance realized how young he looked…how young they all looked. The floods of kids running had grown, and Julio joined them, taking off into the night.

*****

Spot watched the water under the bridge that afternoon. His face was sore and he hadn't slept in awhile. He watched the coolness ripples and how they got bigger and bigger until they disappeared. It reminded him of legends, how they start off as these small insignificant things and then end up impacting everyone and everything so much…but then they disappear into the larger body of water and are nothing again. But maybe it's the memory of that one ripple that causes all the others to act, even if they never meant to be a legend in the first place.

" Hey Spot," Chance had come up silently beside him. Spot looked at her and gave a half smile.

" Hey," He noticed she was in rather rich attire which to him meant no holes in what she had on, " Nice clothes."

" Yeah," Chance rolled her eyes, " all part of the going home to the wealthy family thing."

" So you're off then huh?" Spot was pleased. Sure she was a pain in the ass, but no one that didn't have to be on the streets should be. Besides she'd changed a lot in the past three weeks, hell they all had.

" Yep. I'm off to see the world, " Chance smirked, " Well at least the Western America part of it."

" That's good." He nodded in approval.

" So good bye," She turned and held her hand out to him, " At least for now…I mean nothing in this town lasts forever."

" You can say that again," Spot mumbled to himself as he shook her hand. The handshake loosened and Chance started to leave.

" Hey Chance!" Spot called and she turned around to face the great glory of the Brooklyn leader, " Listen, if you ever come back and you need a place," Chance smiled, "there's always the orphanage on the other side of town." Chance gave a strange look and continued on her way. Spot watched till she was merely a spec on the other side of his world.

" Boy," he heard a voice from behind him groan. He smiled and faced his friend, " People sure do act weird when they think yer dead."

" I still think you should have told the kid you were still kickin' Monroe." Spot smirked.

"Nah, " Action said clutching her side in pain still, " Besides, I'd be afraid that she'd find away to stay here and change her name to Action."

" Another Action Monroe?" Spot laughed, " Now that would be scary."

" Oh gee thanks," Action retorted, " yer even more of an asshole now that I'm dead."

" Oh you are not dead…would you cut it with the whole dead charade. Do you have any idea how creepy that is?" Spot said as the two began to walk off into Brooklyn.

" No, but I did have the joy of my best friend screaming at the sight of me."

" Now that had to have been good!"

" She pulled out a cross and started listing everything she'd ever stolen from me or done wrong …it was a pretty long list."

" So now what Monroe? You leaving for good this time?"

" Nothin's ferever in this town Conlon. 'sides might as well go off and see the world…all except the western America part of it."

" Think New York will ever be the same?"

" Sure…just as long as no one pretends to be related to you….now that could be hazardous."

" Hey!"

" Sorry Conlon, but dead people tell the truth." Action smirked.

" Yeah and they also roll a hell of a lot faster in trash cans then live ones…care to test the theory?"

And so the two legends walked side by side, one last time, off the Brooklyn bridge, never to meet again, and only to be remembered as the greatest enemies and best of friends New York, or any part of the world for that matter, had ever seen.