A/N: YAY! Finally! A new chappie! Wow, this took WAY too long to write. I'm SO sorry. This should have been up like over a week ago. But, thanks to the laziness and mind-haze induced by the required state testing I've been forced to endure for the past two weeks, and thanks to be not being about to get on the computer all of last weekend, and thanks to me suddenly getting sick over the weekend, it just never got written. I have a feeling this chapter is going to be extremely terrible, and I'm horribly sorry for that, but maybe you'll find it at least a bit interesting. And hopefully you'll look forward to the chapters to come! Oh, and good news for all of you, my spring break's next week! happy dance And my two best friends, and really the only people I'd be doing anything with are going to be out of town. pouts quietly So that means I'll be writing a ton. Oh, and I'm done with CSAPs! (the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or, in other words, the aforementioned state-required yearly tests…) So no more delays because of them! Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! Criss-Cross

Chapter Thirty-Three: Call Me Kattie

Bittah burst out laughing as she and Criss-Cross reached the end of the street. Their fight with Trigger had been the most fun she had in ages, and though she knew that she should be scared of Trigger's mob of gang members that he'd send after them once he came to, but she wasn't.

Smirking as the smaller girl raised an eyebrow at her, she laughed even harder. "Aw, c'mon Criss-Cross. Live a lil. You'se can' tell me yas didn' find dat fun!"

Criss-Cross burst out laughing too and smirked back at Bittah, saying, "Dere's no way I didn'! Da fights wit' Triggah's boys befoah have been bland. But now it's moah fun."

Bittah nodded and sat down on a barrel. "'Parently I'se been on da wrong side befoah now…" she said.

Criss-Cross shook her head and laughed. "Nah," she said, "yas jus' didn' know which side ta choose…"

Bittah nodded, and the two sat in silence for a moment, both in their own thoughts. But then she broke it, asking, "Wheah to?"

"Not heah…We can' stay in Brooklyn tanigh'…Triggah's men'll be on da streets in a shoit while, meanin' we's should be offa dem…Manhattan'll probably take us in…An' I'se need ta talk ta Jack anyway. See if 'e's gotten 'is lazy ass inta da war…"

Bittah nodded, "A'ight. Well, we bettah head dere soon."

Criss-Cross nodded and stood up, as a sudden commotion in a nearby alley drew the attention of both of them.

"What d'ya t'ink dat is?" Criss-Cross looked over at Bittah.

"I'd say it's a fight…" she responded, standing and heading towards the alley.

"fkin' bastards!" a female voice's scream rent the air, causing Bittah and Criss-Cross to take off running for the alley to see what was wrong.

"Run!" Criss-Cross shouted, darting into the alleyway at the sight of her brother Spot's girl, Runaway. She was facing three Queens boys, and right as Criss-Cross was watching, one of them stabbed Runaway in the gut.

Bittah caught Criss-Cross by the arm, and yanking her back slapped a hand over the other girl's mouth.

"Sh…" she hissed in Criss-Cross's ear. "Calm down! Yas wanna get yerself killed?"

Criss-Cross shook her head, eyes wide, staring at the horrific scene in front of them. As Runaway fell to her knees, grasping the knife in her stomach, one of the Queens boys, Ice, stepped up to her, and placing his own knife by her throat, ended her life in one quick slice.

Cringing, Criss-Cross turned away from the scene, hiding her head in Bittah's shoulder. She'd seen plenty of deaths in her life in New York's multitudes of borough wars, but for some reason she couldn't watch as Runaway –who had helped her to be where she was at the moment- had her blood spilled on the cobblestones of Brooklyn.

Bittah put her arm lightly around Criss-Cross, and steered her away from the alley before the boys had a chance to see them. Once they were well out of sight by the Brooklyn Bridge, the two stopped.

Leaning against the railing of the bridge, Criss-Cross looked at Bittah with a sad, serious gaze. "She's Spot's goil," she said, her voice soft and full of remorse. "A, at least she was… She was always kinda mean. But wit'out her I'se wouldn' be heah righ' now. I'd still be back in Manhattan waitin' fer Jack ta agree ta let me wage war…"

She stared longingly out over the river, realizing how dark it had gotten. The dark brought her no fear as she peered out at the familiar scene. She could navigate the Bridge with ease in the pitch black. Even though she hadn't lived in Brooklyn for four years, she still knew every inch of it by heart.

"I'se seen every kind a death out dere in me days," she mused, explaining her actions back in the alley. "An' I'se known tons a people who's died. But I'se jus' couldn' look back dere…Cuz I knew Runaway…She was Spot's goil…An' losin' her…seein' her die…Makes me wondah what I'se gonna do if I actually lose Spot…"

Bittah regarded the girl with soft eyes, and thought about what to say. But she was at a loss for words. So instead, she lay a hand on Criss-Cross's shoulder and gave her a soft, genuinely caring smile.

"Ah, Spot's too stubboin ta let anybody kill 'im," she said slowly, finally finding the right words to reassure the girl she was sure would become Brooklyn's queen once it all ended.

Criss-Cross grinned half-heartedly and nodded, laughing softly as she spoke, "Ah, I got nothin' ta worry 'bout wit' Spot. 'E's da King a Brooklyn, an' 'e didn' get dat name fer nothin'…Jus' wish I knew what's gonna happen. An' why everythin's gotta be so strange righ' now. I'se mean, Runaway would nevah have died undah different coicumstances…"

Sighing, Bittah nodded. She'd only actually known Runaway for a few days before all the trouble with Trigger had suddenly exploded, but the girl had seemed like the type to be a fighter. Regarding Criss-Cross with a look of pity, she smiled softly. The younger girl seemed to be the closest thing she'd ever have to a sister, and even though the two had only met an hour or so before, she cared about more than she had nearly anyone else in her life.

Bittah had grown up on the streets of Chicago. She'd been raised by a gang, and she'd been an orphan her whole life. She'd never had a real family, though the Shadows –her gang- had become hers over the years. But after a time, the torment of the gang had worn her down, and she'd left Chicago in a rush, fleeing from both the police, and her gang.

Shaking her head to clear the memories, Bittah turned to look at Criss-Cross as a fire began to play in the younger girl's eyes. "What yas plannin', Criss-Cross?" she asked with a smirk.

Criss-Cross smirked at her and turned, beginning to walk down the bridge. Shooting Bittah a, "You coming or not," look over her shoulder, she simply said, "Ah…You'se gonna find out soon enough…An' call me Kattie. We's in dis like we's fam'ly. So ya migh' as well call me by me fam'ly name."

Quietly, staring at the stars for a moment as she fished for her cap in her bag, she added in a soft murmur that was carried away by the wind, "It's what Spot's always called me…"

A/N: So, what did you think? Was it totally horrible, terrible, boring, or just in general bad? Or did you like it? lol Tell me, cuz I wanna know. And in order to tell me that means you have to…You guessed it-

Spot: Review! Yeah! Yas gotta!

So true…So please please please pretty please with sugar and a muffin and a cupcake and regular cake and chocolate and a cream-coated newsie of your choosing on top, review! Oh, and I'm sorry Runaway! But I had to kill you're character! It had to be done for the plot to work right!

Shout Outs:

Claps: Yay! Happiness! I hope you liked this chapter. And I'm definitely writing more. I've already got several more stories planned out for my quaint little newsies fanfiction. So, I hope you'll read them! But right now I'm focusing on finishing this one…

Angelfish: Yay! Okay, I have to confess my extreme concern that the fight was unrealistic, but apparently you and some others liked it, so yay! And I will try to fulfill your demand for more Striker. lol There's going to be at least a little more of everybody between here and the end. Well, except for those already dead…lol And you're writing's really good, so you need to write more soon!

Skater: Yay! This one's finally up! Sorry for the delay. And yeah, you're gonna be in at least a couple more chapters. lol You'll see what I'm planning…And I'm glad you thought the last one was good. But what about this one?

Nosilla: Yay! And I'm alive too! So that's all good news.

Scott: (still too lazy to write out your full name…lol) Yes! It was a cool fight! Though, it wasn't actually that big of one. There's bigger fights to come still…And yeah, I was really stuck on this chapter thanks to CSAPs and being sick and stuff. And I'll give as obvious of hints as I want! lol And I hate Trigger, so of course he's gonna get his ass kicked…

Bittah: Yes! More RPing! Though, I think that was part of the problem of my taking forever to update…But oh well…And your suggestions are fun to take! You'll just have to wait and see what I have in store though…lol Much love girl! And thanks for the note you left on my away message yesterday. It made me feel good, cuz right now I'm horribly sick and should probably by upstairs in bed, but oh well, I ain't the type to sit around and do nothing. But sorry I took so long to update. I SO owe you more fic! Which hopefully you will get very soon!

Spot: A'ight, we love yas all, but we gotsta go. Please review! Oh, an' I'se gonna make Criss-Cross write moah fic soon, a'ight!

laughs Okay, well, please review, and I promise more fic soon!

Cuddly newsies and happy songs,

Criss-Cross And Spot