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Turn, flash. Pose, flash. Turn, turn, turn, flash.

Photoshoots were always a lot of fun, what with all the costume changes and poses and everything, but the boy currently decked out in a sequined bullfighter costume was finding it a little hard to concentrate. Mostly because even in these final days of summer it was still hot. He worried that the sweat would ruin his make up or drip onto his clothes. When a time out was called, he was relieved. When a cool drink was suggested, he eagerly volunteered to get it.

"Don't worry, Mama--I will get the lemonade and then come straight back," Alejandro promised, his dimpled smile for once completely genuine. "And I promise--no strawberry lemonade. I'll double check."

===

Alejandro was not the only one in the middle of an adventure. Some distance away, a cream-colored streak blurred down the back alleys that all, eventually, led to the centrally located park. The blur was, in actuality, a cat. And not just any cat. A cat with peppermint goggles and a racing flag that fluttered up and down with the motion of her tail as she leapt atop a trashcan and began to peer around.

Anyone watching might have thought she was suddenly spoooked, but the truth was this Himalayan had started off apprehensive. Well, as apprehensive as the jolly Mauvian ever was. She could feel what they couldn't, that peculiar stain of Chaos that indicated a Corrupted Cat was near. She dared a quick mewl of a taunt. "HA! I'm totally going beat you, and then the new winner and I are going to kick your tail! You're gonna be a hairless Sphinx when we're done!"

“You obviously have no idea who you are up against,” Horatio caterwauled, pitching her voice higher to clearly mock the Corrupted Guardian. She had absolutely no fear and no care in her tone, and so it was probably not surprising that she snorted immediately after. “Seriously? That’s what people in cartoons say, and you’re definitely no Megatron. You’re not even a Waspinator! … well, MAYBE a Waspinator since all you do is buzz, buzz, buzz and talk about your plaaaaaans.”

The smaller cat zipped ahead and leapt on top of a large trash can before propelling herself off of it again. The force was enough to knock it down and spill its contents over the pavement behind her, a small but rank obstacle for Ms. Fluffy Britches to overcome. The Himalayan hoped beyond hope that there was a banana peel included in all of the compost carnage, but she did not stop her sprinting to look back. She had to get to the winner! No way was she going to lose a paw-race, for starters, and super no way was she going to lose one of her Senshi!

==

Alejandro was receiving change for his lemonade whenever he heard a loud CRASH a couple of alleyways down. He did not think much of it, and the cold beverages in his hands were not going to stay cold for much longer. Besides, hadn’t he promised his Mama that he was going to get the drinks and then come straight back?

But then he heard something that sort of sounded like a kitty, and what if the kitty was hurt? Kitties with no homes ate out of the trashcans sometimes, and maybe a raccoon had bitten it or something. It wouldn’t take TOO long for him to go and see… he chewed his lip in consideration and decided to wait a few moments more to see if he heard anything else.

Horatio considered the other cat’s silence a victory! Clearly she had been unable to think of a come back or to avoid her trash can very easily--or at least so she thought until she looked up as well as back! The sneaky Chaos kitty had gone up, and up was a much clearer playing field than the one littered with refuse and abandoned objects of all sorts. “Oh, I see. Activating a cheat code? Fine. I’ll just have to go into MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!” She was already going about as fast as her little legs would take her, but she had a little more juice to give.

Or maybe she could take the high road, too? She certainly wasn’t afraid of heights or of taking risk, so when she found a series of boxes that would let her get to the top. Horatio ran for it and began to jump up with a bit of a mew at each obstacle conquered. “Well, two can play at that game!”

==

Alejandro peeked into an alley way. He was being silly. There was no way he could be hearing what he thought he was hearing and… well, he had promised to go straight back. So why was he clutching two lemonades dripping with condensation and worrying his Mama? Because it sounded like fun, maybe, and because he was a ten-year-old boy and that meant nothing if not curiousity.

“Hello? Hellllo?”

He didn’t see anything or hear anything… maybe he was at the wrong alley? There still a couple of more he could try…

Whoa. Whoa. WHOA! Alejandro did not know what to make of the shadowy beam of light that came streaking across the roof of the alley.. He thought at first that it was a firecracker and so he leapt to the side and hit the deck. He did not want to get his matador outfit dirty, but if it meant he didn’t get burned on his face? That would be much better! The lemonade in his hands sloshed over the rims of the cups and spilled.onto the ground. He instinctively tried to keep them still, but… he had definitely lost about half of the yellow liquid from each cup. He yelled up in frustration, hoping whoever it was would get an earful. “That was my only drink you… you firefarter! Now my Mama and I are going to be really thirsty. I expect you to pay for that!”

He stormed towards the opening of the alley intent to give whoever it was firing firecracker a piece of his mind when he noticed another object hurtling towards the ground. This was one was cream and mewling and he instinctively ran forward to grab hold of it. One cup of lemonade fell totally forgotten as he managed to catch the falling cat. He was keenly aware that his Mama had always told him not to pick up strays, but he couldn’t just leave the poor creature there, especially when it looked like there was a larger, meaner kitty up on the roof. Very likely a big bully kitty who had knocked down the smaller one. Alejandro flung the remaining glass of lemonade at said big bully kitty with a hiss, “Bad gato! Go pick on some mice or something!”

==

The crumpled pile of blasted Himalayan was so proud of the winner. He had to be a winner, no doubt. Only a winner would have the guts to fling something at an evil Guardian Cat. Horatio could not speak more than another pathetic mew, but it was a pathetic mew of pride. Not one to have the breaks put on her, she began to wriggle towards the chest of the pink-haired firecracker in the red sequined costume. In a way, she was kind of glad it had all happened this way. Yes, the blast had hurt, but she had never been propelled at such speed. It was just… such a rush!. Her injuries would heal, and her fur would grow back, and most importantly of all? SHE WAS GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE PRIZE FIRST! By tooth, claw, or fluffy tail… she was going to reach that boy’s starseed.

Horatio might have blacked out for just a minute, not even a minute, more like a nanosecond. Somewhere in the pain and the pride the warmth in her fuzzy chest had overcome her. Or maybe it was the warmth she felt coming from the chest against which her face was now pressed. She did not remember reaching her destination… but when she managed to open her eyes, she was clearly in motion. In the hands of the winner… which was the absolute best place to be. She turned her head to get a better look at the one holding her, blinking slowly to try and readjust her hazy vision.

For his part, Alejandro was uncertain why he had gone in there to rescue the kitty. He knew his Mama would be angry at him for not coming back right away with the lemonade, much less because he was picking up a stray cat. But the little creature had sounded so sad, and when he held her nuzzled against him so slowly, so painfully… how could he possibly leave her? It even made him feel completely non-guilty for flinging lemonade at the kitty who had… shrieked like a person. Yeah, he was sort of shocked by that in a numb sort of way as he whispered down to the one in his arms, “You… can talk?”

“Yeah, I can… ow, I like to talk, but kinda hurts right now. Take a left here… go into… this alley.” It wasn’t very far from where the Dark Guardian lurked (see also: two alleys down), but Horatio knew time was of the essence. There were important matters, and the HImalayan did not feel any less excited just because her entire body felt like a giant ache. Her tail swished, the flag concealing some sort of opening as two items clacked to the ground beside her savior. One was a cellular phone; the other, a peculiar looking pen. She cleared her throat a few times, her normally peppy voice a little low today as she began the home stretch of her favorite game: awakening the Senshi. “Okay… ready to win… the grand prize? Take the pin, there… yeah, the fancy one, don’t worry about the phone for now, and hold it above your head. Then say… Syrinx Power, Make-Up! just as boldly as you can.”

Raise a sparkly fairy tale wand over his head and chant magic words? … it made about as much sense as anything else he had seen tonight, so Alejandro complied, but without any expectation that anything would happen. “Syrinx Power, Make-Up!”

Needle-points of light drew around him like the needles of a cactus, dispersing into an impressive light show for no one but the talking cat to see. The matador costume melted away, the costume satin and sequins replaced with a simple white shirt, striped pair of pants, cowboy boots, and pink-and-yellow armor of sorts. Gauntlets around his wrists, a kerchief around his neck, and a sash around his waist did not bother him. All pieces he had worn before, if not made of these materials and all at once. The strangest feeling was the tiara that appeared in a wipe against his forehead.

Alejandro--no, Chibi Sailor Syrinx--took a good look at himself and then let out his very first powered words, “Awwww… why does it have to be pink?!”

“Chibi Sailor Syrinx… it’s nice to meet you, and whoa you’re pretty styling we kind of match with the pink I have on my goggles and why are you holding me up to your face like that?” Horatio had recovered some of her voice but found herself held rather precariously now. The little winner had tucked both of his hands under her front legs and left her rear ones to dangle. He brought her up towards his face, where she promptly, if weakly, licked his nose. “Can we go back to the cuddling? I like cuddling.”

“And I like knowing why there are suddenly two talking cats, and I apparently had a costume change? My Mama’s not going to be happy about this, and I’m not happy about all this PINK!” Yes, the child had his own priorities, but all the same he tucked the tired kitty back into one arm. “So could you answer some questions for me?”

“I would love nothing more than to answer questions, answering questions is something of my speciality, but we’re kind of in a pickle at the moment, so could you say--”

Horatio cut off in mid-speech to give a feral hiss, and for a moment Alejandro thought he had done something wrong. That was when he saw the same meanie kitty from before, and yes, she was definitely talking. “Save me from what? YOU’RE a meaniebritches that makes my stomach hurt!” Chibi Sailor Syrinx could not explain the dark, queasy feeling that overcame him whenever he saw the fluffy cat who he knew to be a bully. He brought the current, injured kitty closer to his chest in a gesture of protection. “So, I think you should just leave us alone and go clean the lemon out of your rat nest fur.”

“Okay, NOW will you say ‘Syrinx Cactus Bloom’ for me so we can get this over with?”

“Why would I say that?”

“Just say it, kiddo, please? For me and my fluffy tail?”

“Fine, but don’t let this make you think I’m gonna be bossed around by you for long,” Syrinx grumbled. Finally, he repeated the words that the cream-colored kitty had told him, “Syrinx Cactus Bloom!”

A rather luscious looking cactus flower appeared in his hand, glittering with dew. He looked at the blossom and then at the two cats. “Um… okay?” He was actually feeling pretty darn energetic and could have kicked or punched at the mean cat but… even mean cats didn’t deserve to be hurt. Hurting animals for fun was a sign of being a serial killer--Criminal Minds had taught him that, even though Mama said he wasn’t supposed to watch shows like that. He brandished the flower as… menacingly as one COULD brandish a flower at the cat. “So...yeah. Don’t make me use this!”

Chibi Sailor Syrinx looked from cat to cat, a furrow appearing on his face as he frowned. “So, both of you were trying to get to me? And you’re both ‘guardians’? What are you guarding--kitty litter and food bowls? Because I don’t have either of those things.” He waggled the flower but even he wasn’t impressed. “All I’ve got is a new costume and a flower. But you’re still a bully and make my stomach hurt, so… don’t see why I should listen to you any more than cream-butt here.”

Horatio sniffed at the flower that had appeared in the Chibi’s hands as he spoke and it smelt… rather tasty. She preferred meat, on the whole, but what the heck? She stretched herself out along the length of the boy’s arm, causing him to hold it up at an awkward angle. That put the pink petals near the cream-colored cat’s teeth. She chomped down, tentatively at first, but soon gobbling the whole thing.during her second bite. It was pretty good, and it gave her a perk of energy. If she had to give an amount, it was sort of like that time she had eaten some chocolate covered coffee beans… except without the puking that came afterwards. “Yummy!”

Her teal eyes shone brightly behind her goggles as she glared down at the Chaos-aligned cat with a huff. “Sore loser. I got here first, fair and square, so just give up already. Or, if you want, I can repay you for the light show you gave me?” Her own bronze-forehead star began to glow gently. She would fire it if she had to--no way was Horatio going to give up her winner now!

“ACK, get OFF me tunabreath!” Syrinx half-danced around, straining and struggling to grab the very fluffy kitty that had wrapped herself around his neck and shoulders. The navy-and-white cat was decidedly heavier than the previous talking cat had been. Grabbing her was difficult, but his one-gloved hand finally managed to get a hold. He flung her to the ground. “I don’t want you hurting the other kitty, I don’t want ‘Chaos’ because… last I checked that was a bad thing, and I definitely don’t want you molesting my chest like a creeper! So, scram.”

Horatio was not happy about this turn of events. The slap had been bad enough, with enough strength to make her shake her head (even if she did land on her paws). But now someone else was enjoying her prize! Her fur stood on end, the puffing adding to her size even as she howled, “I warned you, loser, and you asked for it, so I hope you like being a burnt up marshmallow!” The bronze star glowed all the brighter, and as soon as the Chibi Senshi had managed to fling their opponent away, the Himalyan launched her assault.

Sure, it would mean that she would be super tired and probably have to wait to explain everything else to the new winner, but at least that sore loser would be out of their hair! Ugh, the ragdoll was worse than bubblegum.