Disclaimer: I don't own the Newsies, or any of the characters from it...
Disney does. But hey, Disney, if you ever want to get rid of them, I'd take
'em... haha, anyway, I own Bridie/Buttons, Jimmy/Sky, and all the girl
newsies. Everyone else owns themselves.
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Sky rushed down the stairs, anxious to see Racetrack and Itey again. He hadn't seen either since they'd left five years ago to watch Mush and make sure nothing happened to him. He stopped on the bottom step as everyone turned towards him again.
"Hi?" Sky, having not been around mortals at all, had no clue what to say. Fortunately, Itey stood up.
"Hey, Sky. Haven't seen ya in a while."
Sky smiled at him. "Ay, 'tis been a long time."
"So you know dem, too, Itey?" Jack asked from his seat on the couch. "Did ya know Specs before ya came heah, too?"
Itey nodded. "We lived right by each othah. Sky and 'is sistah were our neighbors."
"So yer related?" Kid Blink asked Bridie as she followed Specs down the stairs.
"That we are, but there's many a time I wished he wasn't related to me." she said, smiling. "But I'm stuck with 'im."
"Thanks, Buttons." Sky grinned at her.
"Kloppman," Specs said, "It's alright if she stays heah tanight, right?"
"I don't know. I think she should go to the girl's Lodging House..."
"Kloppy, jus' let 'er stay here tanight. She doesn't know anyone dere, not yet. I'll introduce 'er ta some of 'em tomorrow, and she can stay dere tomorrow night." Specs said, trying to convince him.
"Where would she stay? I don't want her in your bunk room."
"Dere's da sick room." Race said. "She could stay dere."
Kloppman looked over at him, and sighed. "Alright, but if I find any of you in there tomorrow morning..." He glared at all of the boys. "And you," he said to Bridie, winking, "I'd advise you to lock your door."
"Of course!" Bridie said, smiling at the older man. "Thanks."
"No problem, dear. The rest of you, it's getting late, only a few more minutes, and then it's upstairs."
The boys groaned, but they didn't complain. They knew he was right; their mornings were early, and staying up late wasn't a good idea.
Itey sat back down on the couch, but made room for Sky to join him. He squeezed into the open space, and Itey introduced him to the boys around him. "Sky, dis is Jake, Swifty, Snoddy, Pie Eater, and Snitch."
"Hiya!" Sky said.
Bridie followed to where Specs had been sitting before. He, too, introduced her to everyone he had been talking to. "Guys, dis is me friend Buttons. Buttons, dis is Dutchy, Bumlets, Skittery, Kid Bink, ya already know Race..."
"Ya know Race, too?" Skittery asked. "So you bums were friends before ya came heah?"
"Yeah, Skits, we were friends. And dis," Specs said, nodding to the last boy, "is me pal, Mush."
Bridie immediately looked him over, and saw that Specs had been right. He was young, and he looked so... innocent. She smiled at them. "Nice to meet ye all."
Both Bridie and Sky were having a good conversation with the newsies when Kloppman came in and sent them off to bed. He pulled Bridie aside and handed her a clean blanket.
"We don't keep any blankets on the bed. We have to burn them a lot of the times after someone is sick. We don't want anything going around. Now, it's the door right next to the bathroom."
"Thanks, Kloppman," Bridie said. "For lettin' me stay tonight."
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal. Just remember to keep those boys out of that room." And, with a grin, he sent her up the stairs.
~*~
The next morning, Bridie woke up early, before any of the others had. Quietly, she opened the door and walked through the sea of bunk beds until she found her four friends. The first she found was Sky, lying in a bunk with a younger newsie. She shook him awake, being careful not to wake the other boy.
"Bridie?"
"Ye need to get up, Jimmy. We'll be needin' to have this talk before they get up to sell."
"But it's early, Bridie."
"Jimmy, please. Get dressed and go onto the roof. I need to find the others..."
She continued down the row, and soon found Specs, Racetrack, and Itey, and had gotten each to change. Once they were all on the roof, she walked over to Mush's bed, and stood there, staring at him for a minute. Her feelings from the night before came back; maybe Specs had been right in saying he was too young for this. All the same, he had to be told.
She bent down the wake him, but thought better of it. She walked to the window and climbed onto the fire escape. "I shouldn't be the one to wake him. Mark, or you, Anthony. One of ye go wake him."
Racetrack nodded and jumped onto the fire escape. They could hear him go all the way down to the window, clomping on the metal. Bridie shook her head. "He'll be wakin' all of them."
Nobody answered her. They waited in silence until the heard footsteps on the fire escape again, and Race and Mush's heads emerged from behind the wall. Race went over first, and as Mush jumped over, he took his place between Specs and Itey.
Mush stood there, looking a little confused. "Race told me dat ya wanted ta talk ta me..."
Bridie sighed. "Indeed we do, lad. Why don't ye sit?"
"Sit?" Mush asked, staring around the rooftop. "Sit where?"
Bridie, too, looked at her surroundings. "Maybe ye should stand, then."
"Al-alright." Mush said. He was a little nervous. Something about the five people standing in front of him put him in awe. And the way the girl acted, and talked... it was like she had seen everything, and that she'd been around forever. But he said none of that aloud.
Bridie stared back at the others, trying to figure out a way to tell him. "Mush, do ye remember your parents?"
Mush stared at her. It was such a strange question. "Well, yeah."
"So ye remember their names?"
"Yeah."
"What were they?"
"Margaret Moira Connelly an' Sean Patrick Connelly." Mush said. "Why?"
Bridie smiled. "That they were. I knew both of them."
"You did? How?" Mush asked. "Ya don't look any oldah than me."
Bridie sighed. "'Don't judge a book by its cover'. Ever heard that, lad?" Mush nodded. "Listen to me, Michael. There's something very important we need to tell ye."
"Ya know me name!" Mush cried out.
"Michael Seamus Connelly... yes, I know your name." Bridie said. "I know it well. Now listen ta me, Michael. I'm not human. I'm older than ye can imagine, I'm sure. I've been around since the beginnin' of time."
"But- how?" Mush asked breathlessly.
Bridie seemed to stand straighter. "I'm an elf. An elf of Ireland. As is Sky. And your friend, Specs, is an elf, also."
"An elf?" Mush asked, completely confused.
Racetrack spoke up. "And I'm a leprechaun."
Itey joined in, too. "I'm a faerie."
"And you, Michael. You're the last of a line of a great people, that has been around as long as me. Ye have not only human blood in ye, but the blood of the greatest things in Ireland- elf blood, leprechaun blood, faerie blood." Bridie sighed before the next part. "But also of the evilest things in Ireland- banshee blood, and merrow's blood. Ye could be a help to both of us right now."
"The fightin' has begun." Specs continued. "The banshees and merrows are awake. We can hold them off, but we can't do it alone, not for long. We need the help of humans, but most of all, your help."
"Without ye on our side, the merrows will take over the water, the banshees the land, and terrorize the humans, make us slaves. Eternal slaves, for we cannot die from sickness, or starvation." Racetrack, for once being serious, continued the story. "We can suffer from it, but cannot die from it."
"It would be horrible. Not just for us, but for all. We need ya on our side, Mush." Itey said, his eyes boring into Mush's. "With you, we can vanquish them, and the world will be at peace again. But ye could be on either side, because of the blood runnin' through your veins."
"We're askin' ye to join us, before our enemies can. Though ye can live until the age of 200, ye can still die in battle, and starvation or sickness. Your human blood is the cause o' that." Sky explained. "There's a large risk of ye joinin' with us. The enemy will be after ye at all times. We'll do our best to take care of ye, and teach ye everythin' we know, everythin' ye'd need in battle."
"Please, Mush. We need you." Specs said.
Mush stared at the now-quiet group in front of him. It seemed almost impossible, like a dream; Sky had seemed so serious, but he looked like a ten-year old! "You're insane!" h finally cried out. "Ya think I'll believe dat? Dis is some stupid joke. It ain't funny, Specs! And Itey, a faerie?!"
"It's not supposed to be funny, Mush." Specs said quietly. So quietly and calmly that it caused Mush to stop screaming, and he, again, left staring at them.
"Michael, this is no joke." Bridie said.
And Mush, in that moment, believed them. He thought of his parents, who had seemed so strange to him, so old and wise, almost magical. They could swim underwater for an hour without coming up, never aged while the other parents around them did. They had so much happiness, playing jokes on others, and they were so kind. But when they scolded him, their voices seemed to change, but afterwards, Mush could never remember how they had sounded. Everything this Buttons had been saying, it answered all his questions, and he had no choice but to believe them.
"What am I supposed ta do?" Mush asked, seeing in all of them that they knew he had believed them.
Bridie smiled. "We'll teach ye how to fight. Teach ye everything. We'll send for some of the others to come. I'm glad you're with us, Michael."
"Me, too, Buttons." Mush answered.
Bridie smiled again. "Call me Bridie, Michael."
Mush nodded; the name fitted her. And she had no need to tell him not to tell anyone; he had a feeling that it was something that his friends could not know.
"Let's go back inside. They'll be wakin' up soon." Specs said.
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YAY!! The first chapter. That was great to write... I have so many ideas for this right now. Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that, and understood it. Now PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! lol.
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Sky rushed down the stairs, anxious to see Racetrack and Itey again. He hadn't seen either since they'd left five years ago to watch Mush and make sure nothing happened to him. He stopped on the bottom step as everyone turned towards him again.
"Hi?" Sky, having not been around mortals at all, had no clue what to say. Fortunately, Itey stood up.
"Hey, Sky. Haven't seen ya in a while."
Sky smiled at him. "Ay, 'tis been a long time."
"So you know dem, too, Itey?" Jack asked from his seat on the couch. "Did ya know Specs before ya came heah, too?"
Itey nodded. "We lived right by each othah. Sky and 'is sistah were our neighbors."
"So yer related?" Kid Blink asked Bridie as she followed Specs down the stairs.
"That we are, but there's many a time I wished he wasn't related to me." she said, smiling. "But I'm stuck with 'im."
"Thanks, Buttons." Sky grinned at her.
"Kloppman," Specs said, "It's alright if she stays heah tanight, right?"
"I don't know. I think she should go to the girl's Lodging House..."
"Kloppy, jus' let 'er stay here tanight. She doesn't know anyone dere, not yet. I'll introduce 'er ta some of 'em tomorrow, and she can stay dere tomorrow night." Specs said, trying to convince him.
"Where would she stay? I don't want her in your bunk room."
"Dere's da sick room." Race said. "She could stay dere."
Kloppman looked over at him, and sighed. "Alright, but if I find any of you in there tomorrow morning..." He glared at all of the boys. "And you," he said to Bridie, winking, "I'd advise you to lock your door."
"Of course!" Bridie said, smiling at the older man. "Thanks."
"No problem, dear. The rest of you, it's getting late, only a few more minutes, and then it's upstairs."
The boys groaned, but they didn't complain. They knew he was right; their mornings were early, and staying up late wasn't a good idea.
Itey sat back down on the couch, but made room for Sky to join him. He squeezed into the open space, and Itey introduced him to the boys around him. "Sky, dis is Jake, Swifty, Snoddy, Pie Eater, and Snitch."
"Hiya!" Sky said.
Bridie followed to where Specs had been sitting before. He, too, introduced her to everyone he had been talking to. "Guys, dis is me friend Buttons. Buttons, dis is Dutchy, Bumlets, Skittery, Kid Bink, ya already know Race..."
"Ya know Race, too?" Skittery asked. "So you bums were friends before ya came heah?"
"Yeah, Skits, we were friends. And dis," Specs said, nodding to the last boy, "is me pal, Mush."
Bridie immediately looked him over, and saw that Specs had been right. He was young, and he looked so... innocent. She smiled at them. "Nice to meet ye all."
Both Bridie and Sky were having a good conversation with the newsies when Kloppman came in and sent them off to bed. He pulled Bridie aside and handed her a clean blanket.
"We don't keep any blankets on the bed. We have to burn them a lot of the times after someone is sick. We don't want anything going around. Now, it's the door right next to the bathroom."
"Thanks, Kloppman," Bridie said. "For lettin' me stay tonight."
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal. Just remember to keep those boys out of that room." And, with a grin, he sent her up the stairs.
~*~
The next morning, Bridie woke up early, before any of the others had. Quietly, she opened the door and walked through the sea of bunk beds until she found her four friends. The first she found was Sky, lying in a bunk with a younger newsie. She shook him awake, being careful not to wake the other boy.
"Bridie?"
"Ye need to get up, Jimmy. We'll be needin' to have this talk before they get up to sell."
"But it's early, Bridie."
"Jimmy, please. Get dressed and go onto the roof. I need to find the others..."
She continued down the row, and soon found Specs, Racetrack, and Itey, and had gotten each to change. Once they were all on the roof, she walked over to Mush's bed, and stood there, staring at him for a minute. Her feelings from the night before came back; maybe Specs had been right in saying he was too young for this. All the same, he had to be told.
She bent down the wake him, but thought better of it. She walked to the window and climbed onto the fire escape. "I shouldn't be the one to wake him. Mark, or you, Anthony. One of ye go wake him."
Racetrack nodded and jumped onto the fire escape. They could hear him go all the way down to the window, clomping on the metal. Bridie shook her head. "He'll be wakin' all of them."
Nobody answered her. They waited in silence until the heard footsteps on the fire escape again, and Race and Mush's heads emerged from behind the wall. Race went over first, and as Mush jumped over, he took his place between Specs and Itey.
Mush stood there, looking a little confused. "Race told me dat ya wanted ta talk ta me..."
Bridie sighed. "Indeed we do, lad. Why don't ye sit?"
"Sit?" Mush asked, staring around the rooftop. "Sit where?"
Bridie, too, looked at her surroundings. "Maybe ye should stand, then."
"Al-alright." Mush said. He was a little nervous. Something about the five people standing in front of him put him in awe. And the way the girl acted, and talked... it was like she had seen everything, and that she'd been around forever. But he said none of that aloud.
Bridie stared back at the others, trying to figure out a way to tell him. "Mush, do ye remember your parents?"
Mush stared at her. It was such a strange question. "Well, yeah."
"So ye remember their names?"
"Yeah."
"What were they?"
"Margaret Moira Connelly an' Sean Patrick Connelly." Mush said. "Why?"
Bridie smiled. "That they were. I knew both of them."
"You did? How?" Mush asked. "Ya don't look any oldah than me."
Bridie sighed. "'Don't judge a book by its cover'. Ever heard that, lad?" Mush nodded. "Listen to me, Michael. There's something very important we need to tell ye."
"Ya know me name!" Mush cried out.
"Michael Seamus Connelly... yes, I know your name." Bridie said. "I know it well. Now listen ta me, Michael. I'm not human. I'm older than ye can imagine, I'm sure. I've been around since the beginnin' of time."
"But- how?" Mush asked breathlessly.
Bridie seemed to stand straighter. "I'm an elf. An elf of Ireland. As is Sky. And your friend, Specs, is an elf, also."
"An elf?" Mush asked, completely confused.
Racetrack spoke up. "And I'm a leprechaun."
Itey joined in, too. "I'm a faerie."
"And you, Michael. You're the last of a line of a great people, that has been around as long as me. Ye have not only human blood in ye, but the blood of the greatest things in Ireland- elf blood, leprechaun blood, faerie blood." Bridie sighed before the next part. "But also of the evilest things in Ireland- banshee blood, and merrow's blood. Ye could be a help to both of us right now."
"The fightin' has begun." Specs continued. "The banshees and merrows are awake. We can hold them off, but we can't do it alone, not for long. We need the help of humans, but most of all, your help."
"Without ye on our side, the merrows will take over the water, the banshees the land, and terrorize the humans, make us slaves. Eternal slaves, for we cannot die from sickness, or starvation." Racetrack, for once being serious, continued the story. "We can suffer from it, but cannot die from it."
"It would be horrible. Not just for us, but for all. We need ya on our side, Mush." Itey said, his eyes boring into Mush's. "With you, we can vanquish them, and the world will be at peace again. But ye could be on either side, because of the blood runnin' through your veins."
"We're askin' ye to join us, before our enemies can. Though ye can live until the age of 200, ye can still die in battle, and starvation or sickness. Your human blood is the cause o' that." Sky explained. "There's a large risk of ye joinin' with us. The enemy will be after ye at all times. We'll do our best to take care of ye, and teach ye everythin' we know, everythin' ye'd need in battle."
"Please, Mush. We need you." Specs said.
Mush stared at the now-quiet group in front of him. It seemed almost impossible, like a dream; Sky had seemed so serious, but he looked like a ten-year old! "You're insane!" h finally cried out. "Ya think I'll believe dat? Dis is some stupid joke. It ain't funny, Specs! And Itey, a faerie?!"
"It's not supposed to be funny, Mush." Specs said quietly. So quietly and calmly that it caused Mush to stop screaming, and he, again, left staring at them.
"Michael, this is no joke." Bridie said.
And Mush, in that moment, believed them. He thought of his parents, who had seemed so strange to him, so old and wise, almost magical. They could swim underwater for an hour without coming up, never aged while the other parents around them did. They had so much happiness, playing jokes on others, and they were so kind. But when they scolded him, their voices seemed to change, but afterwards, Mush could never remember how they had sounded. Everything this Buttons had been saying, it answered all his questions, and he had no choice but to believe them.
"What am I supposed ta do?" Mush asked, seeing in all of them that they knew he had believed them.
Bridie smiled. "We'll teach ye how to fight. Teach ye everything. We'll send for some of the others to come. I'm glad you're with us, Michael."
"Me, too, Buttons." Mush answered.
Bridie smiled again. "Call me Bridie, Michael."
Mush nodded; the name fitted her. And she had no need to tell him not to tell anyone; he had a feeling that it was something that his friends could not know.
"Let's go back inside. They'll be wakin' up soon." Specs said.
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YAY!! The first chapter. That was great to write... I have so many ideas for this right now. Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that, and understood it. Now PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! lol.
