A/N: Typical! As soon as I get on a roll with writing this story, I go away on holiday and we have no internet for a week! Anyway...

I don't know what the rules are for disclaimers? But I thought I ought to put one in anyway: I don't own Ruby Redfort, any characters other than Roger and Sadie (remember her?), or the extracts from the books which are used in this chapter.

Which reminds me, there are major spoilers for every RR book in this chapter; you can skip it if you want, as it doesn't really advance the plot much.

...

When Clancy next opened his eyes, he was struggling to breath. He couldn't see Hitch anywhere, and instead found himself staring at something white - a ceiling? Everything was blurry.

"How's he doing?" He heard a woman's voice from somewhere behind him, and a man beside him replying:

"He's breathing on his own again."

"Well, that's a relief." She sighed, but she still sounded tense. Clancy felt his eyes sliding closed again, and he heard more voices, one's that he recognised this time...

"So, how about it Rube, you may as well tell me - remember that time a couple of years ago when you knew what my mom and dad had gotten me for Christmas and you didn't wanna tell me but I just wore you down until you did?"

"Ok Clance, I'll tell you but you have to swear you won't under any circumstance breath a word - not even in your sleep."

"I know, girl scout's honour and all that."

"Not even under torture. Not even under torture in your sleep."

"I'll gag myself, how about that?"

"This isn't some little secret Clancy - this is big."

"You know me Ruby. I never blab - never."

There was a long pause then, and a sigh. "Ok; this is the story."

...

Ruby couldn't see; she could hear sirens, confusingly she could hear Hitch's voice, and she could feel a sharp pain in her abdomen, but that was about it. "Ruby?" Hitch was saying urgently.

"Sir, she's not responsive yet." Someone else said sternly.

"Ruby, I know you can hear me." He persisted, and Ruby groaned, tugging at what she could feel was an oxygen mask on her face. "You'll be alright, kid, I know you will." A bright light filled her previously dark vision, and suddenly she was in the basement beneath the Twinford Museum, Hitch by her side and checking her over.

"You ok Ruby?" He'd said, quite calmly, having just karate-chopped Baby Face Marshall.

"Never felt better." She'd replied, smoothing down her hair and dusting herself off. It was then that the power and come back on, lighting up the quite frankly terrifying image of Valerie Capaldi, standing in the doorway, holding a diamond revolver to Clancy Crew's temple.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the secret agent extraordinaire and his little pet." She said, grinning derangedly.

"Hello Nine Lives," Hitch had said coolly. "I almost didn't recognise you - something about you is different, more distinguished somehow... It could be the red hair, or perhaps it's the scar. You know it suits you - adds character." Valerie Capaldi scowled. "You're going to regret that you disfigured me. I'm going to kill you and I'm going to kill the boy and when I'm done I'm going to kill the girl. How about that?" She hadn't been lying. Anyone could see that. Ruby had felt a stab of fear before remembering that Hitch was with them, and he'd get them out alive.

She hadn't spoken to Clancy until later that evening, outside the museum.

"Hey Rube!" Clancy had come running towards her, flapping his arms Clancy-style and sort of hopping up and down. "Boy, am I ever glad to see you, I thought maybe... You know... You'd..."

"Gone to a better place?" She'd replied. "Nah, not me Clance my friend - it takes more than an evil genius to get me popping my clogs."

"Which reminds me," Clancy'd said. "I found your shoe!"

...

Ruby knew she was in many respects an unusual friend to have, but she had always hoped she was at least a good one. Until one day in particular, which she had spent obsessing over Martha Fairbank's Rubies, when she realised maybe she wasn't.

"I better get going, got a lot to do." She'd told Clancy.

"You can't go," He said matter-of-factly. "It's Friday night, we were gonna hang out, remember?"

"Clance, I got a job to do, it's kinda important, you know?"

"Yeah, for your information I do actually! The job is more important than anything else including your friends, including me. I got that, ok? Loud and clear!"

Ruby had felt the guilt wash over her, but rather than say the right thing, she'd said the wrong thing. "Good! I'm glad you finally figured something out by yourself, bozo! It took you long enough!" She regretted it as soon as she uttered the words and saw him flinch. Clancy hadn't replied, his face had said it all, and Ruby just turned and left the diner, not once looking back.

It had only taken a near-death experience to get her to apologise. Clancy had been the only one she'd wanted to talk to, so she'd rung him as soon as she'd arrived home, leaving a message when it clicked through to voicemail.

"Look Clance, sorry for what I said, ok? Sorry for being a complete pain in the behind and a total duh brain. No excuses, just sorry. Call me." Intending to go and get change, she'd replaced the receiver and walked away, but before she'd made it four steps across the room, the telephone rang. She picked up the donut phone.

"Hey Rube, you're forgiven, wanna hang out?" And that was all it had taken.

"Sure I do Clance my old pal. What have you got in mind?"

...

Clancy had never been a fan of swimming, sharks, or psychopaths, so he'd known that he was completely insane when he'd braved all three to rescue Ruby. It was well worth it; the look of disbelief on her face was priceless if nothing else - but best of all was the knowledge that he had helped, that maybe he didn't always just get in the way.

"You look a bit pale Ruby, you ok?" He'd gasped.

"I guess I've been better. How did you find me?"

"I heard you singing. Can you run?"

"I'm not sure I can stagger!"

"Can you crawl at least?"

"Doesn't crawling involve the use of at least two limbs?"

Clancy had would have sighed in exasperation had he not been almost hyperventilating already. "Could you crawl if I told you that The Count might be making his was back down here and could find us at any minute?" Ruby's eyes widened.

"I can run."

This had certainly been an exaggeration. She couldn't actually stand without falling over and Clancy had found himself half carrying, half dragging her along the cave passages. But they had made it. Clancy had saved her and she'd saved them both as they'd climbed into the blue plastic barrel together and Ruby had shouted merrily: "You know we still stand a very good chance of dying!"

...

She'd swallowed the ink, so she couldn't help it; she had been telling the truth. Barely two months later, this was proven, when Clancy woke to the smell of Turkish delight and the sound of Lorelei von Leyden's cut-glass voice.

"So what were you doing in my apartment?" She had demanded.

"I don't know what you mean." Clancy stammered. "How could I have been in your apartment? I don't even know where you live."

"You were there, I smelled your bubblegum."

"But I don't even like bubblegum."

"Really?"

"Yes, really, so tell me why would I be in your apartment when I have no idea where you live, chewing bubblegum which I don't like?" He had been more irritated than scared by this point - he guessed being kidnapped and drugged must have brought out his bad side. Lorelei had reached into his sweat-top pocket and pulled out the Hubble-Yum.

"Have it your own way, but I find it strange that you would have bubblegum about your person if, as you say, you don't even like it." She'd turned to go, and Clancy had called out without thinking.

"Would you listen to me? You've got the wrong sucker here. This isn't even my gum. I found it in my sister's bicycle basket. It belongs to Ruby Red-" He caught himself there, clamping his mouth shut.

"You were saying?" Lorelei prompted, suddenly interested once again. She came over and pulled the blindfold from his eyes. Clancy looked at her, knowing everything had changed.

"And who is Ruby Red?" She said. "And where can we find her?"

But Clancy had said not another word; not until Ruby herself came to get him.

...

Opening his eyes again and squinting against the bright, white light, Clancy could just about make out that he was somewhere different now - he could no longer hear the kind voices from before. He couldn't hear much, actually; everything sounded as though it might if he had been underwater, and he knew from his experience with Lorelei that this was most likely a side effect of being fairly drugged up. It felt nicer this time, though; he'd felt war and cold and sick and decidedly out of it last time.

Ruby hadn't taken long to get to him. Still, Clancy had been wondering where she'd gotten to. "I wasn't sure you'd come." He'd smiled at her weakly.

"Oh, you know me Clance. I'm not always punctual, but I always show up eventually." She'd taken his hand and managed to gently stand him on his feet; he wobbled a bit, but he didn't fall. "Look Clance, we're gonna have to run for it - you think you can do that?"

"Sure." He'd said. They'd travelled about twenty yards when he started to look decidedly unstable.

"Are you ok?" Whispered Ruby. Clancy had said nothing, just breathed all the harder. "Ok, you're gonna need to keep going." He sort of nodded, but stayed where he was. "You don't seem very ok." Ruby had said. "Are you about to pass out on me?" Clancy shook his head, and passed out.

He'd been slightly more coherent, but no less drugged, when he opened his eyes again. "Am I still here?" He'd said.

"Yeah, and unfortunately, so am I."

"Do we have to go back?" He asked. "I didn't like it so much there."

"No, I don't think that's such a good idea." Ruby said, in deep thought. "Ok; this is what we're gonna do."

She'd gotten them out of there in one piece, obviously, but it had been a close shave, and something neither of them ever wanted to happen again.

"It's nice to see you alive Clance, you know that?" He remembered her saying to him when it was all over and done with.

"Yeah, nice to see you alive too, Rube." He'd replied sincerely. "You're quite the survivor."

...

Something which worried Ruby was that, since she was currently incapacitated, and could hear Hitch, her parents and Mrs Digby around her; Clancy was alone. He could look after himself, sure, but sometimes he just needed somebody else; like the time Beetle had joined their class.

Ruby had no idea how long it had been going on before that Thursday when she was late for school; the Thursday when she found out. When she had finally made it to class that day, she'd taken no notice of Mrs Drisco marking her down for detention - she'd been too busy looking at Clancy Crew, who had a large band-aid on his forehead and a distinctly yellow streak to his hair. Beetle, who she'd seen during detention at recess, had had the very same colour on his shoe. "Hey," He'd said, catching up to her in the corridor. "So what bad thing did you do?"

"You have yellow on your shoe." She'd said.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Why did you trash my bike?" Her voice gave nothing away as she stared straight at Beetle.

"Your bike?" Beetle had said, seemingly innocent. "I would never, I mean why would I? I mean, I like you."

"That bike was real special to me, that bike saved my life once. Clancy Crew is the only person on the planet I would give that bike to, and you trashed it."

"I didn't know it was yours." Beetle had tried to explain. "That Crew kid is a friend of yours? You have to be kidding."

"Why do I have to be kidding?" Said Ruby. "Do I sound like I'm kidding?"

"It's just you seem like you're, you know, cool."

"I am cool."

"But he's such a loser."

"That 'loser' happens to be a good friend of mine, my closest friend actually." Ruby's said through gritted teeth.

"But I mean, how was I to know? He's like, a total duh."

"No, I know what a total duh looks like." Ruby was looking at him hard in the face. "You think it's ok to beat up kids with your three pals, all four of you against one 'loser kid, one skinny, loser kid'? You picked the right colour, man - yellow, just perfect for a bunch of cowards."

Ruby Redfort knew she had made it up to Clancy; they had gotten their revenge and boy had it been fun. But thinking about it now just made Ruby want her best friend more than ever. She wanted to say sorry for all the times she'd gotten him into trouble, and laugh over all the trouble they'd caused, and sit up the oak on Amster Green and let Hitch sort out all the trouble they had left behind at Spectrum...

Clancy Crew was thinking the exact same thing as his vision faded again to black.

...

Small, shining specs of light had glittered in the darkness all around them. All around Amster Green; stars.

"Hey Clance," Ruby had called through the darkness, "Thanks for saving my life!"

"Any time!" Clancy had shouted back.

"And I forgive you for blabbing!"

"I never blabbed! I was truth-serumed!"

"I know it! Don't get your underwear in a bunch - I was joking!"

"You could dangle me over a pit of wolves..."

"Feed your toes to crocodiles..."

"And I still wouldn't blab." Clancy shouted.

"And you know why?" Ruby had yelled back, grinning. "Because you're some friend!"

"Takes one to know one!" Clancy had told her, before he left.

...

A/N: Four more chapters after this one; I've written most of the rest of the story, so the next update just depends on how quickly I can type it up! :)