Summary: The gang attend a dance, and a girl gets annoyed when Ford won't pay her any attention. Meanwhile, Ford and Nadia make a discovery in a hidden room.

A guest called WishingMiracles requested that a girl makes Nadia jealous. This is what I came up with. Also, to those of you who deciphered the code in the previous episode: your OCs will not be in this episode. They will be in the next one. I have labeled said episode in the list on my profile.

From now on, all codes can be translated with the vignere cipher. The keyword is in bold.

Chapter Thirteen: No Blood, No Glory (Part One)

Things have calmed down considerably since Nadia's breakdown in Dimension 48 (at least, that's what I'm calling the place). One thing I've noticed, however, is that Starclops has been - understandably - paying much closer attention to her, though whether or not Nadia's noticed is unknown to me. We're now in what I have dubbed Dimension 52, which is surprisingly similar to an Earth city. The only real difference is the people, who are all various species. I hope we stay here for a while. There are so many creatures to meet and study. From things I know about, like gnomes and lepricorns, to beings I never would have imagined, like a giant floating baby head. Although that one's more disturbing than anything else around here, it seems a lot more docile than the "Time Baby" that Blendin Blandin told me about back in Gravity Falls.

According to the locals, this dimension is sort of a refuge area that welcomes beings from any and all dimensions. Some use it as a vacation spot, some to hide from the law of their own universe, and some just live here. Another lucky break is that this place accepts all forms of currency, so we managed to get a hotel room.

I do have one negative comment to make. Starclops discovered that there was some kind of dance going on tonight. I didn't expect it to make her so excited, but then she told us the reason she wanted to attend: let's just say, she must have somehow heard about Stephen King's Carrie and is now hoping that she can see it in real life. As for my own enthusiasm about attending a dance, well, it doesn't exactly...exist…

Ford paused in his writing and thought back to his senior prom.

*Flashback*

A teenage Ford nervously walked up to his crush, Alice Rogers. He cleared his throat, and she looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "So…" he drawled dumbly. He swallowed and laughed sheepishly. "Um… Do you come here often?"

Alice tossed her punch in his face.

*End of Flashback*

There is a silver lining, though. I'll be able to mingle with all kinds of new and amazing creatures. At least, among Lord knows how many different beings, I won't seem like, as the popular kids called me, "that weird six-fingered guy." On a side note, popularity is not next to creativity.

"I don't know, Starclops." Ford looked up from his journal. Nadia was looking at herself in mirror, eyeing her long-sleeved yellow dress (Starclops had materialized it for her) with disdain. "I like that it covers my scars, but it kinda hugs my body, and it's a little more," she pointed at the dress's deep V-neck, "revealing than I'm comfortable with."

On another side note, Nadia looks fantastic in her dress.

Starclops flew in front of her. "First of all, that's all the stuff you want a dress to do. Second, there's barely any cleavage showing. And, third, you barely have any boobs to begin with. You know, if you want, I could make those little girls into big girls-"

Nadia fervently shook her head, her face quickly reddening. "No! No, I'm good!"

Tad asked good-naturedly, "What is it with women and their appearances?"

Ford laughed. "Tad Strange, that may be one mystery that no one can solve." Echo happily grabbed an aquamarine hair clip out of the wardrobe and handed it to Nadia, who clipped in in her hair. "I wonder if they'll Echo in."

Tad shrugged. "Why wouldn't they? I mean, they let a giant floating baby head in, didn't they?"

"Good point."

The ballroom was packed, and Ford was elated. So many species, so little time, and so little ink in one pen! He was glad he'd tucked away his journal in his tuxedo jacket.

Starclops had went off to do hopefully nothing that would get them kicked out. Tad was leaning against the wall, happy to just enjoy the music. Nadia was over by the snack bar drinking...whatever that was. And, Echo was...probably in there.

"You ain't gettin' in here," the huge, rock-like bouncer told her. "Ever since the owner's wife got her memory erased, he don't want no snarks gettin' in here."

Echo crossed her arms and pouted in annoyance. She whipped around indignantly and crawled away. She couldn't get in through the front? Fine. She would find another way in.

At the moment, Ford was interviewing a female creature named Dara, jotting down everything he could about her. "My studies indicate that imps, such as yourself, have a desire to become full-fledged demons. True?"

The imp was pretty - though that wasn't saying much, given her species - with a short dark red bob and amber eyes. Her skin was pale red, her dark wings were worn on the ends, and she was half Ford's height. She smiled, and Ford didn't catch the flirt in her squeaky voice. "Oh, absolutely. And, to get there, we need to serve our masters." She arched her back, emphasizing her too-big-for-her-body breasts. "We live to please."

Unfortunately for her, Ford was too busy writing to pay any attention. "And, are imps really as fond of trickery as I hear?"

Dara pursed her lips. "Do you have to ask all these research questions? Can't we just dance?"

Ford raised an eyebrow. "You want to dance with me?"

"Yeah! I've seen you around, and I think we could hang."

Ford blinked. "Oh." Dara grinned, showcasing crooked yellow teeth. Ford caught a whiff of her breath. Yikes. "Uh, thank you, but I'm kind of here with some people…"

"Hey, Ford," Nadia approached him, and Dara scowled. "Can we talk in private?"

Ford frowned in concern. Nadia was obviously upset about something. "What's the matter?"

Nadia bit her lip. "J-Just come with me, alright?"

Now, he knew something was wrong. Ford tucked his pen and journal back in his jacket. "Alright."

He tried to follow Nadia, but Dara grabbed his arm and batted her eyelashes. "You don't want to go with her, do you? Wouldn't you rather dance with me?" She swayed side to side, allowing her over-sized breasts to push each other, making audible smacking-sounds under her dress. Ford shuddered and half-jogged away for her. Dara scowled again and called angrily, "You'd pick a mutant over someone as beautiful as me!?" She crossed her arms and muttered, "Fine. I have ways of dealing with this sort of thing…"

Starclops materialized in front of the imp and glared at her. "Hey, you, I overheard-slash-eavesdropped-on you talking out loud to yourself. Don't even think about messing with that mutant."

Dara rolled her eyes. "I don't have to listen to you. Imps only follow traditional demons. Not dream demons, who just play with brains." She shoved Starclops to the side and walked away.

Starclops balled her fists at her sides. "Why, that little…" She teleported herself to Tad, who didn't even blink when she so suddenly. "Did you see that?"

Tad shrugged. "An ugly girl flirting with Ford?"

"Yes, that - ew, by the way - but I'm talking about Nadia. I saw her watching them, and she looked pretty annoyed."

"Of course, she did. That imp was practically throwing herself at Ford."

"But, didn't you catch Little Miss Boobs giving Nadia the death-look right back? She's going to do something, and Nadia doesn't need any more stress, after Bill Ciph-" That was when Starclops realized that she should probably stop talking.

Especially since her friend was definitely listening now. "Bill? Cipher? What does he have to do with anything?"

Starclops waved dismissively. "Never mind all that. I'm not gonna let Nadia get hurt, and you're either with me or against me."

Tad weighed his options. He could just relax and not do something that could potentially get them both thrown out, or he could keep Nadia from getting hurt. He sighed. "Alright, but we're gonna talk about this Bill-thing."

Starclops clapped once. "First, we need to get Nadia out of harm's way."

Nadia led him off to the side, looking rather uncomfortable. Ford noticed how she seemed to favor looking at everything that wasn't him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Nadia awkwardly rubbed her arm, finally meeting his gaze. "I...didn't like the way that imp was eyeballing you…"

"Eyeballing?" Ford repeated. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously. "She was staring at you like you were her next meal, and she was, um, accentuating her...parts…"

Ford laughed. He couldn't help it. "You honestly think she was flirting with me?"

"You don't?"

"Well, I don't really know enough about her kind to be sure-"

"I just don't trust imps. They play all kinds of cruel jokes. Moreover, I dated an imp once, and all those things want to do is…"

Ford raised an eyebrow at how red Nadia's face suddenly was. "Is…"

She swallowed. "Get in...bed with you… I-I just don't wanna see you get pregnant."

"What?" Now, it was his turn to change colors. "I-I-I'm a guy. I physically cannot get pregnant."

"Male humans can't bear children?"

"Male mutants can?"

Needless to say, they were immensely grateful, when Starclops interrupted. "Hey, guys. I just came by to say one thing." She held out her hand, and the closet door opened. "This is for your own good."

"Wait, what?" was all Ford could say before the demon shoved them both in the closet, slammed the door, twisted her hand in the shape of a key, and locked them inside.

Tad just gawked at her. "Um… Was that necessary?"

Starclops's hand morphed back to normal. "Nope. Not at all."

"Also, why is Ford in there, too?"

Starclops thought about that briefly then shrugged. "Collateral damage?"

"Well..." Nadia drawled. "That happened."

Ford tried to opened the door and scowled when it wouldn't budge. He banged on the door in frustration. "Starclops, open this door, you knucklehead!" After a moment of just standing there like an idiot, he sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "What in hell's name is she up to, now?"

Nadia leaned a hand against the wall of the closet. "I'm not sure we want to know."

Suddenly the tile she was leaning on pushed in, and the wall caved in. Startled, she almost fell through. Ford managed to catch her around the waist, and she gripped his shoulders for support.

Ford felt like he'd been struck by lightning, as he realized what position they were in. Nadia stared up at him, seemingly mesmerized. If he wanted to, he actually could have peaked down the V-neck of her dress. But, stars above, he didn't dare.

Ford swallowed, though his mouth was unusually dry. "Are-Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "I am."

"Good." Then Ford blushed, realizing what was happening, and positioned Nadia upright, suddenly wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. Nadia seemed equally embarrassed. Ford coughed. "So, um, yeah."

Nadia turned around and gaped at where the wall used to be. "Whoa… Where do you think these stairs go?"

Ford smiled, grateful for a distraction. Especially one this interesting. "Only one way to find out."

CVY FSFTLWUC CATAWHX AAXN WM WBRORO.

Is Dara too sexual? Good, because that's the point. Instant turn-off, along with everything else about her. Review!