She was nervous.

Okay, no, not nervous. She wouldn't be nervous doing this... no. No way. This was.. uncomfortable. Okay, yeah, this was uncomfortable, and Ursula continued to clutch on to her overly large handbag as high heels clicked their way down the sidewalk. (Uncomfortably).

Glancing down, she rechecked the sticky note for the twentieth time, rereading the address scribbled on it. She'd never been in this part of town before, and she anxiously glanced up at the numbers on the houses as she strolled down the street. The neighborhood was fairly nice, nothing to be worried about. Muggers would get their fair share of a fight, anyhow, should they choose to pick on Ursula Johnson, Queen of the ******** Negaverse, but it wasn't the neighborhood, it wasn't muggers, it wasn't the environment that had her nerv--uncomfortable. It was her purpose for being down here, on this glorious Saturday morning when she should very well be having the time of her life shopping for Christmas presents and wedding ideas.

After what seemed like forever, she finally approached the quaint little home that bore the same numbers as was written on the sticky note in her hand. Manicured nails gently tore at the sticky note, and she stood there for a moment to collect herself before approaching the front door. Deep breath. Hair toss. Another deep breath.

This was business.

Strictly business.

One finger reached out and pressed firmly against the doorbell, the sound echoing throughout the house.

She could do this. This was just a matter of business that needed attending to.

Just business.

It was just another boring day at the Collins household. Her mother was off doing God only knows what down in her crafts room, probably quilting to ship off to yet another hospital for children or something equally retarded. The bitter thoughts of an ignored only child sometimes colored these charitable pastimes in an unpleasant way.

Thankfully, she had an Xbox, and an impressive internet connection. Watching episodes of Mythbusters in an epic marathon was now her current time-killer, and if she had to, she could argue that it was totally scientific! She was learning something! So it was with some exasperation that the (still!) pinkette tramped down the stairs to answer the door. Where the hell was her mother?!

"Comiiiiiiiing, hang on!" The teen made a show of pounding down the steps so that whomever was at the door didn't run off, and so her mother could hear that she was irritated. This irritation did not dissipate as she pulled open the door, it only heightened into true anger. Right there, on her doorstep, was Ursula Johnson.

Audrey then did what any self-respecting person would do.

She shut the door right back in the woman's face.

It had taken a great deal of pride swallowing to get Ursula to the doorstep of the despicable Audrey Collins.

She'd known from the start that there would be difficulty talking to the pink-haired girl. That there would be threats involved, raised voices, and possible (god forbid) cajoling.

But she'd have thought she'd have made it through the goddamn door, at the very least!

Her cheeks, already flushed from the cold wintry weather, were burning a bright red hue as she glared at the closed door in front of her. That little... that little b***h, how dare she?!

Fists curled up into balls as her large bag fell to the ground. Stepping forward, dainty hands began to slam themselves against the wooden door, creating as much noise and vibrations as she could manage without hurting herself.

"WHAT THE <********>, AUDREY?"

Her tone quickly dropped a few decibels as she quickly decided that while she wanted to cause a ruckus to get the terrible Miss Collins' attention, she did not want to draw in stares from across the neighborhood.

God, this was humiliating.

"I suggest you open up this door right now before a certain Mr. Killingworth gets to hear about how uncooperative one of his lieu--students happen to be!"

Audrey couldn't help it. When the pounding and swearing started, she started to laugh. Soft giggles at first, turning into side-splitting waves of laughter that had her leaning against the door to keep herself on her feet. The idea of the oh-so-powerful and prideful Ursula Johnson pounding on her door and screaming like a scorned girlfriend just tickled every sense of humor the girl had. And she had quite a few. It was only the querulous "Audrey? Audrey is someone at the door?" coming from the back of the house that sobered the girl up, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "Don't worry mom, I got the door. It's just a friend from school that I'm messing with." Giggling a bit, the girl opened the door and stepped back. "You're lucky I care about my mom, otherwise you'd've stayed out there." The threat to talk to Killingworth wouldn't have gained her entry to the house, not for something so mild.

No illusions, none at all. Ursula wanted something, and the girl'd be damned if she'd give it. Couldn't hurt to hear her out, however, since it might actually work in her favor for a change. Doubtful though.

Snagging the woman's wrist, she dragged the voluptuous secretary towards the stairs. "We'll do this in my room, so we don't upset mom. She's kinda strange sometimes, so don't bother her ok?" Irritated and ignored or not, Audrey cared quite a lot for her mother, and did the best she could to keep things on an even keel for the poor woman. She never handled stress well, which is why it was so easy to have Pasha over. That kid couldn't stress out Charonite, let alone a normal woman! This house guest, however, was another story entirely. Nudging the older woman into the room and shutting the door firmly, Audrey went and flopped on her bed, gesturing casually for Ursula to find a seat. "Okay now, what the hell do you want that couldn't wait? I mean, I don't exactly go to your place, and you don't have parents to deal with. So what gives?"

She had just enough time to lean down and pick up her handbag as the door opened before Ursula found herself being yanked inside the Collins home.

Huffing, she attempted to jerk her arm back and out of the younger girl's grasp. There was no satisfaction in this victory, not when that little twit was grinning as she was. For the umpteenth time, she had to question if what she was doing here was really worth the shame and humiliation she was being forced into.

Ngh. The things people did for love, god.

Heels stomped their way up the stairs after the pink haired girl, Ursula taking a brief moment to grin at the obnoxious color. It pleased her that the color still remained, even after a good week or so from Audrey's ... incident.

Once inside, her nose immediately began to wrinkle as she looked around, studying the girl's room. Scattered everywhere on the shelves were strange little doll figures wearing even stranger attire. Instead of posters of boy bands or hot actors, blue and green people with monstrous faces stared back at her from the walls. So this was the domain of a geek?

Ursula's expression revealed her obvious unfamiliarity with the world of the nerd, her own high school experience a far cry from electronics and pixelated worlds. Where was all the makeup, the mirrors, the Johnny Depp posters? And not a single Cosmo lying around?

Shaking her head, the older girl attempted to collect herself, feeling as though she'd stepped into a parallel world.

"I need... your assistance," she stated slowly, her eyes still focused on what she could only assume to be one of the troll characters Linarite would occasionally mention. She actually chose to play one of those monsters?

Turning her head back around, her eyes finally met with the golden ones of the sprawled out girl, "For Charonite. I need something for Charonite for.....Christmas."



Audrey had already opened her mouth to send out copious amounts of scathing rhetoric when the strange request hit her ears, effectively silencing the pink-haired girl with her mouth agape. "You want me to do what?!" Okay, so it wasn't that out of the realm of possibility for Ursula. She was obsessed with the man, and everyone knew it! But why was she here?

Why was she at Audrey's doorstep?!

Eyes narrowed with suspicion, and it colored her voice. "Is this a favor from Audrey, or Linarite. There are some things I just can't do, and you know what they are." She wasn't about to let herself be fodder so that Nealite could fetch a senshi seed for her precious General King. If anything, Nealite could be the goddamn fodder.

The older woman shifted uncomfortably where she stood, the awkwardness of the moment finally sinking in for her. She eyed the computer chair and began making her way over to it, plopping down in the surprisingly comfortable seat as she pulled her handbag up into her lap.

"It's Audrey that I nee-require." She ground out, her face now also revealing the displeasure she was currently experiencing. Here she was, Ursula - no, Nealite, Captain of the Negaverse, hoarder of dead souls of ancient monarchs, and she was being forced to request personal favors from disrespectful pink-haired ******** hell.

Her cheeks were still a ferocious red, and eyes moved to break the stare the two women shared. "I have something in mind, but it requires things... I can't ******** hell, did she actually just say that out loud? To Audrey?

"-...I mean, I don't know how. I presume you can teach me, since it deals with computers and whatnot."

Stiffening her back up against the chair, she brushed aside invisible lint from her skirt. "I'd be willing to pay you for your time, of course."


God this was awkward. Pleasant, but awkward as hell. It warmed the deep places of Audrey Collins' heart to hear that there were indeed some things that Nealite couldn't do. Some things that she needed her help for! A warm little glow started in her belly, but was almost summarily dismissed by the topic. The horror of Ursula's laptop had never really left her mind, and the mention of the woman plus yet another computer nearly sent the girl over the top.

Rolling into a sitting position, the teen rocked thoughtfully, hugging a pillow close to her chest. The plan had twofold merit. Firstly, she would be showing her vast knowledge of technology to the woman. Something Ursula herself would never understand. But they would be forced to spend a good deal of time together, something Audrey wasn't sure was absolutely possible. After all, she still had suspicions about her hair color's origins! But this was for Charonite. Which meant that there was no way in hell Ursula could take all the credit. Which meant she might actually look good in front of him!

Nodding slowly, she held up her hand to stall any speech. "Yeah ok, I'll help, but you have to let me know before you come over. Mom would let me bring a gaggle of boys up here without batting an eyelash, but dad's much more strict and smart. There'd be no way for you to come over when he's here. If you can't agree to that, might as well go now." Surprisingly, almost even to herself, Audrey was being fairly reasonable about the whole thing. Yes, Ursula was a b***h. Yes, she was trying to have her killed. Yes, Audrey would rather die than help her.

But it was for Charonite. She had to at least try.

"What'd you have in mind?"

She gave the other girl a blank stare - let her know when she was coming over?

"Oh I don't plan to make a return trip, if I can help it." She quickly objected, balking at the idea. Once was bad enough, but to have to come back to this home-sweet-home filled with people carrying the same bloodline as Audrey Collins? Please.

"The General-King is rather... hesitant about electronics," Ursula began to explain, being careful how she phrased her words, "So needless to say, the apartment is pretty lacking in all things that don't fall under the pre-1980 era."

Shifting in her chair, fingers toyed with the handles of her handbag. "But I think it would be safe to say that he would be far better off with, say, a laptop at his disposal. Makes things a bit easier when you're trying to run a powerful organization and all."

Deep breath, time for the real reason of her visit.

"While my paycheck is... suitable for my needs, it's not exactly large enough to afford such a present. And since I've seen others talk about it (others being characters in various television shows or clips from Antique Roadshow), I was hoping to list some of my own belongings on The Ebay to help afford the expense."

Confessing she couldn't afford what she after was embarrassing, but her chin remained high. It's not like Audrey could pay for stuff like this either, right? Nothing to be ashamed of... just a hurdle in need of jumping.

The bag opened, revealing in it an assortment of shoes, trinkets, and jewelry. Eyes stared down at the girl on the bed, silently daring her to just try and mock her. There was a pair of stilettos in the bag just itching to do some heart-piercing.

"Well? Can you help me?"

Unimaginable. Terrible! "Wait. WAIT. He doesn't even have a dvd player? Maybe some kind of stereo right?" The teen hadn't even seen a glimpse of the 80s, let alone was familiar with any technology before 1995. "I mean I know he doesn't know a cell phone from a coffee machine, but...wow." It didn't even occur to Audrey to ask why the hell Nealite knew about the contents of his apartment. Secretaries did weird s**t like clean their bosses apartments, anyway. Ursula was the desperate sort like that.

"Wow. Uhm. Yeah, I can help with that. Decent laptops are affordable, but you're still paying rent and stuff right? Maybe you can persuade the boss to give you a raise or something after this, since you're buying things for him anyway." Distractedly, she tapped fingers against her temples, and stood up, pulling another chair out of the corner to sit next to the orange-haired woman. A series of clicks and the bright logo of Ebay shone on the large wall monitor.

"Alright. We can set you up an account, so that the money goes straight into your bank. Unfortunately, that means you're going to have to give me some sensitive information." The teen looked uncomfortable with this spiel. After all, she wouldn't trust an archenemy with her bank information! "Otherwise we could just use mine, and I could pay you out of my little savings thing mom and dad set up for when I Ebay when the money goes through. Up to you."

They hadn't tried to kill each other just yet. It was ********' STRANGE.

There was unspoken relief as the pink haired girl expressed her shock over Charonite's lack of support for electronic devices instead of Ursula's lack of funding for such a present.

"Not a damn thing, save for a microwave and toaster." she explained grimly, having been in disbelief herself, at her first inspection of the man's apartment. No, of their apartment.

She listened to the girl go on about information and money, the older woman laughing at the notion of a raise, her left hand rising up to cover her mouth as the sparkling diamond on her hand exposed itself to the younger girl (intentional? Perhaps!).

"I highly doubt he'd be interested in giving me a raise, circumstances considering. And there's no rent to worry over after next month, but the extra cash won't be available until after Christmas, I fear."

The details concerning the bank account troubled her, and she stared at the website in front of her as if it had been written in French. It may as well have been, as much as she understood it. Why hadn't she taken the computer courses back in high school?

Oh right. She had, and skipped the class.

"Just... use your account or whatever. I don't think even you are dumb enough to try to rip me off. And it's not like I'm refusing to pay you or anything... that is, unless you're planning on charging me out the ear. I won't be ripped off, Audrey."

The gaze that pierced the high school student was the stare of an experienced shopper.

Audrey was in the middle of rolling her eyes dramatically when eyes homed in on the tacky bit of loot the woman was sporting on her finger. Almost bluntly, she leaned back into the chair and pointed to an empty corner of the wall unit. "Like I need your money. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty comfortable with what I've got. Put your goods up there, and we can take pretty pictures with a camera. You do know what a camera is right?"

Audrey was a b***h, and snippy, and she knew it. She did it on purpose, especially with Ursula! But to flash her probably ill-begotten bling and then accuse her of potentially stealing from the secretary? Not playing so nice now. "If you want, I'll get you printouts of the auctions, and of the transfers, and then you can have a copy of the bank statement itself. I don't screw around with money, especially since I'd have no way to explain what the hell I was doing selling...whatever the hell it is you've got in that bag of yours."

The b***h had a whole lotta nerve.

She let out a snide hmph at the girl's catty response, but pulled her bag up and placed it on top of the desk, adjacent to the computer monitor. It annoyed her that she had to depend so much on this little... twit, though at the same time, it came as somewhat of a relief that there was someone she could go to. Someone she knew wouldn't ******** her over, out of the fear of what consequence there was to come.

Or at least, would soon be aware of the potential consequence to come....

Her hand lifted itself, now cradled against her chest as Ursula made a point to stare down and coo over her ring. If Audrey wasn't going to make a comment about it, then Ursula would just have to bring the topic up herself!

"Oh that won't be necessary, Audrey darling. I'm sure my dear husband-to-be could tell if you were trying to pull the wool over my eyes. He has a knack for that, you know."

Eyes darted up to meet with the other girl's, her grin silently daring her on to ask about the engagement.

As of this moment, there were only a few plausible scenarios. One, Nealite was pregnant. This was possible, if perhaps roofies were involved. Another was the he was being carefully blackmailed. But how the hell did you blackmail the General King? Okay, not so plausible. It was fairly sure to Linarite that this relationship was one-sided at worst, and absolutely disastrous at best.

A disgustedly exasperated look on her face, Audrey stretched over the woman, and with a lound THUNK, deposited a bright and cheerfully blue trash can between them. "I know I feel the need to, but if you start getting mid-afternoon sickness, feel free to use it. You use my floor, I'm going to put your butt on the street." Eying the woman, she snorted somewhat. "Surprised I didn't notice earlier. You're getting a little chubby there, Ursula."

Not really, but then, did it really matter? Nope! Impatient now, Audrey peered into the bag, and sighed a bit. "Shoes? Well. I'm sure they were expensive when you got 'em. Did you even wear them?" Shoes were such a waste of money. She herself only had four or five pair, and wore them thin. No wonder the woman had no money for presents.


She watched with curiosity as the younger girl retrieved the wastebasket, her first thought being that the little tramp was about to start emptying Ursula's belongings into the trash. This, of course, infuriated the older girl, but as Audrey began to explain, her temper soared through the roof.

The hand that had been toying with the ring grew still, Ursula struggling to keep her temper in check. It wouldn't do to get Audrey mad; Ursula would lose her opportunity to give her beloved the best present ever.

God, this was a living nightmare.

"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from talking to me in such a manner," she said through gritted teeth, anger still flaring in her eyes. "We're marrying because of feelings, something I would have assumed you'd understand, seeing as you're currently dating hi--Hematite."

Her cheeks burned at her near slip-up. The last thing she needed was further hurting her own relationship with the young man. "I figured you'd understand what it's like to be in love Audrey, be it with dear Khaldun or even... your wonderful superhero in shorts. Since he seems to still be pining over dear Lina."

Her chin rose slightly, her expression dismissive. She hadn't approved of the couple to begin with, and she never would. It was disgusting and repulsive, so of course Audrey was all over it like a two-dollar hooker.

"And yes, shoes. Expensive shoes. But dig a bit deeper and you'll find there's more than just shoes."

Rising from her chair, she began to gingerly pull out the contents of the bag, revealing not only pairs upon pairs of shoes, but beautiful jewelry and an odd assortment of knickknacks. Which, naturally, Ursula immediately began to prattle off their namebrands and value, jotting down her own notes on the nearby notebook.

This was obviously going to take some time, and she wanted it over as quickly as possible.


Mild surprise registered in the girl's eyes at the lack of a rise out of the chubby comment. Maybe she was closer to the mark than she thought, and that was absolutely fascinating. Disappointing as well, but the afternoon was young, and the teen stood much to gain from this whole interlude. In information, if nothing else. However, when the topic of love sprang from the woman's lips, Audrey couldn't help but get up and prowl the shelves for her camera, snorting derisively.

"Listen, I don't know what you've been hearing, but I don't think Khal has an affection for any part of me except my willingness to let him use me however he pleases." Pausing, she thought and hastily added on at the end. "Within proper limits, of course. My parents are wholesome people, after all." And finally, at the sneering mention of Castor, Audrey's body stiffened entirely, and she fisted one hand at her side.

"Obviously he pined himself straight into Tanzanite's panties. Apparently they engaged in some post-coital vandalism of the Hillworth property. Or did no one tell you?" Trying to hide the anger and bitterness in her eyes at the mention of the hail senshi, the pinkette dropped back into her chair and snatched up the keyboard as Nealite prattled off all her information. It would be pertinent, if she was going to get good dollar.

Pausing, the girl sighed again. Oh to be brought up properly, it was such a burden! "I suppose I should ask if you want something to drink. Do you?" God damn manners.


Ursula could all but look up from her notebook and stare at the other girl oddly at this new news.

For one thing, there was trouble in paradise for Khaldun and Audrey... but what was this nonsense about Castor and Tanzanite? Aree was a wild card, for certain, but.... Castor? The senshi that had nearly killed her, been the bane of her existance from the day they'd met?

Ursula would have expected this behavior from Audrey but... Aree?

"I've been... away, for a few days."

Her voice lacked the emotion that had been there, only moments earlier. It had taken a good while for her mind to work through the fact that Nova had been murdered, but for Tanzanite, her best friend, to be cavorting with the enemy? The same side that had been responsible for Nova's demise?

Growing quiet, Ursula looked back down, hastily adding the last few items to her list, along with advisable (or rather, hopeful) prices to go by. As soon as she was done, however, there was no dallying. No snide comments, no terse remarks or even dramatic sighs.

Instead, she rose from her chair and picked up her purse, leaving the remains on her desk.

"I'm sorry, I should probably go."

Pause.

".... thank you."

The words were forced, but they were there. Ursula, on the other hand, was not. In her place stood Nealite for a brief second, orange eyes looking distant, deep in thought. What was going through her mind, Audrey couldn't imagine, but it only took seconds for the older woman to disappear out of the room, vanishing in a teleport.

It was a shame, really, that Audrey also had no idea that by allowing Nealite into her home, she had inadvertently added one new location for Ursula to now teleport at her leisure to.

But then again, the day was already strange enough without that additional information.


Staring at the empty room, the girl sighed and tension flowed out of her body as she stared at the baubles and shoes stacked high on her desk. It was like some macabre reminder that she was not much at all a woman, for she couldn't much tell the difference between Louboutins and her simple dress shoes. Also, where had the Captain been for a few days? She'd seen the General King, so they hadn't been cozily ensconced, and she fair shuddered to even consider that they'd hooked up in the most primal way.

Also, she hadn't known about Tanzanite, and had looked horribly disconcerted when the news had come to light. So there was a connection between the new sublieutenant and Nealite. Interesting. From a hidden drawer in her desk, Audrey slowly withdrew the slim notebook, flipping past rows of neat handwriting to a new page. In a cool, scientific manner she noted everything that she'd gathered today, and tucked it away, before once again staring at the empty air.

Softly, only two words were spoken.

"You're welcome."